China shoots for the moon

Mission would be first landing of lunar probe in nation's space program

The scheduled launch of lunar probe Chang'e-3 would bring China closer to putting an astronaut on the moon and using Earth's closest neighbor for deep space exploration, scientists said.

If everything goes as planned during the launch, set for 1:30 am on Monday, the lunar probe will land in mid-December, Xichang Satellite Launch Center sources said over the weekend.