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REUTERS/China Daily
The Long March-3B rocket carrying the Chang'e-3 lunar probe blasts off from the launch pad at Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan province December 2, 2013. The Chang'e-3 lunar probe comprises a lander and a moon rover called "Yu Tu" (Jade Rabbit) which will be deployed to explore the surface of the moon.
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A Chinese spacecraft landed on the moon on Saturday, the official Xinhua news service reported, in the first such "soft-landing" since 1976, joining the United States and the former Soviet Union in managing to accomplish such a feat.
The Chang'e 3, a probe named after a lunar goddess in traditional Chinese mythology, is carrying the solar-powered Yutu, or Jade Rabbit rover, which will dig and conduct geological surveys.
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(Reporting by Pete Sweeney)
More to come.