BEIJING -- Chinese President Hu Jintao said the success of the first stage of China's lunar probe program indicated the nation had joined countries with capability of deep space exploration.

Hu made the remarks at a grand ceremony held Wednesday morning at the Great Hall of the People to celebrate the first-phase lunar probe project's success.

He said the lunar probe was another milestone in China's space exploration, following the successes of man-made satellites and manned space flights.

It was also another symbolic result of China's efforts to enhance self-innovation and build an innovative nation and a historical stride the nation made in its way toward world's peak of science and technology, Hu said.

The development of the nation's scientific and technological strength must be based on economic development, Hu said.

Only when development is regarded as the primary task of the Party in its ruling efforts, will new achievements be made in the development process and will the gap between China and world's advanced standards be narrowed, he added.

Chang'e-1, named after a mythical Chinese goddess who, according to legend, flew to the moon, blasted off on a Long March 3A carrier rocket on October 24 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan.

The satellite traveled nearly two million kilometers in its 15-day flight to the moon and reached its final working orbit with a fixed altitude of 200 kilometers on November 7.

The China National Space Administration released the first picture of the moon captured by Chang'e-1 on November 26, marking the full success of the first stage of the country's lunar probe program.