Beijing: China, which successfully launched its first ever mission to land an unmanned spacecraft on the Moon, has expressed interest in space cooperation with India which has sent its first interplanetary mission to Mars.
The probe Chang'e-3 was launched into orbit on Monday night aboard an enhanced 56.4 meter high Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre.
The launch came a day after India's Mars orbiter Mangalyaan left the Earth for a 300-day journey to the Red Planet.
Chinese space scientists are looking forward to cooperation with other countries, including the country's close neighbour India, state-run Xinhua news agency said in a report on the successful launch of China's lunar probe.
Li Benzheng, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of China's lunar programme, told media earlier that China's space exploration does not aim at competition.
“We are open in our lunar programme, and cooperation from other countries is welcome. We hope to explore and use space for more resources to promote human development,” the Xinhua report quoted him as saying.
The Chang'e-3 lunar probe is expected to land on the moon in mid-December to become China's first spacecraft to soft land on the surface of an extraterrestrial body.
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