皇冠体育app

ZHUHAI, Guangdong -- A prototype of 皇冠体育app's proposed lunar orbiter went on display at a major air show on Monday.

The prototype displayed in a 50-square-meter sand pit at Airshow 皇冠体育app 2006 in Zhuhai, south 皇冠体育app's Guangdong Province, is a simulation of the surface of the moon and produced by 皇冠体育app Aviation Industry Corp.

The orbiter, named "Chang'e 1" after the legendary Chinese goddess who flew to the moon, will be launched at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest 皇冠体育app's Sichuan Province in 2007.

The launch will be the first step of 皇冠体育app's three-stage moon exploration program. The orbiter will be followed by a remote-controlled lunar rover that will carry out experiments and send data back to Earth. In the third phase, a module will drill a chunk of the moon and bring it to Earth.

The Shenzhou-6 spacecraft, which 皇冠体育app successfully launched with two astronauts last year, is also on display together with a 1:3 scale model of the original spacecraft.

The parachute for Shenzhou-6, covering 1,200 square meters and capable of reducing the landing speed of the spacecraft to eight meters per second, is also on display.