China will send a lunar probe to the surface of the moon in the second half of this year to achieve its first moon landing, China's top lunar exploration expert said on Sunday.

Chang'e-3, named after the Chinese goddess of the moon, will be the country's third probe sent to the moon, but the first to actually reach the surface. It will be the country's first spacecraft to soft-land on a celestial body other than Earth, said Ye Peijian, consultant to the chief designer of Chang'e-3 and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

"The lunar probe is now undergoing the final testing before being transported to the launch site. Everything is going well," said Ye, who is also chief scientist in deep-space exploration with China Academy of Space Technology, which is affiliated with China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.