China will wrap up construction of the country's first circumlunar exploration satellite, Chang'e I, by February so that the moon orbiting project will start on schedule, according to moon probe program chief scientist Ouyang Ziyuan.

"We've made good progress with the crucial technology. Testing work will be completed by the end of the year," the academician from the Chinese Academy of Sciences was quoted as saying by the Beijing Daily on Wednesday.

The satellite will be used for the launch of China's first lunar orbiter next year. The moon orbiting project is the first step in China's overall lunar exploration program that began in 2004.

The orbiter will provide 3D images of the moon's surface, probe the distribution of 14 usable elements on the moon, study lunar microwaves and estimate the thickness of the moon's soil. The craft will also monitor the space environment between the moon and earth.

China's moon exploration program will be carried out in three stages. The orbiting project will be followed by a remote-controlled lunar rover that will perform experiments and send data back to the earth. In the third phase, a module will drill out a chunk of the moon and bring it back to the earth.

All three will be completed by 2017, when China will consider a manned lunar probe mission.

Source: Xinhua