"Humanity will go through three phases in lunar explorations, including lunar probing, manned moon landing and setting up a lunar base. Lunar probing is just a single, isolated incident without a long-term vision," he said.

The 2,300-kg moon orbiter, Chang'e-1, carried eight probing facilities, including a stereo camera and interferometer, an imager and gamma/x-ray spectrometer, a laser altimeter, a microwave detector, a high-energy solar particle detector and a low-energy ion detector.

It will fulfil four scientific objectives, including a three-dimensional survey of the moon's surface, analysis of distribution and amounts of elements on the lunar surface, an investigation of the characteristics of lunar mantle rock and the powdery soil layer on the surface, and an exploration of the environment between the Earth and the Moon.

The satellite is expected to enter earth-moon transfer orbit on October 31 and arrive in the moon's orbit on November 5. It will relay the first pictures of the moon in late November and will then continue scientific explorations of the moon for a year.

The milestone lunar orbiter project has cost 1 to 1.4 billion yuan (US$133 to 187 million) since research and development of the project was approved at the beginning of 2004.

China carried out its maiden piloted space flight in October 2003, making it only the third country in the world after the Soviet Union and the United States to have sent men into space. In October 2005, China completed its second manned space flight, with two astronauts on board.