XICHANG -- China will not embark on any lunar probe competition "in any form with any country" and will "share the results of its moon exploration with the whole world" in its pursuit of a policy of peaceful use of airspace, said a chief commander of the country's first lunar satellite project.
"The decision on the lunar probe was made completely in accordance with China's own conditions, which is not meant to be compared with others," Luan Enjie, chief commander of the lunar satellite project, told Xinhua, acknowledging that a new wave of moon exploration has started in recent years and many capable countries have mapped out their own moon probe plans.
The lunar satellite, named Chang'e-1, was launched at 6:05 pm on Wednesday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern Sichuan Province, marking the first step of China's ambitious three-stage moon mission and a new milestone in the country's space exploration history.
"Chang'e-1 only conducts scientific missions, without any military aims and carrying no military facilities and equipment," said a spokesman of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND) on Wednesday.
"When China has accumulated enough in space technology and economic strength, it's natural to make the decision to stride towards deep space exploration," said Luan, adding the moon probe was "the first step", which was in line with the basic principle of "scientific probing from the near to the far".
Chinese scientists started systematic and comprehensive analysis and research about lunar science as early as mid-1960s, and started feasibility study on lunar probe plans in 1990s. A government White Paper on China's space technology released in 2000 disclosed Chinese ambitions in moon exploration for the first time.
