Screen shows the photos of the Chang'e-3 moon lander (L) and the Yutu moon rover during the mutual-photograph process, at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center in Beijing, Dec 15, 2013.[Photo/Xinnhua]

First lunar "soft landing"

China's lunar probe Chang'e-3, with the country's first moon rover onboard, successfully landed on the moon on December 14, 2013, marking the first time that China has sent a spacecraft to soft-land on the surface of an extraterrestrial body.

Chang'e-3 includes a lander and a moon rover called "Yutu" (Jade Rabbit). Yutu's tasks include surveying the moon's geological structure and surface substances and looking for natural resources.

The success made China the third country, after the United States and the Soviet Union, to soft-land on the moon.