Chief scientist: China´s lunar orbiter project costs only 1 bln yuan

Source: Xinhuanet | 10-24-2007 18:47

XICHANG, Sichuan, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's milestone lunar orbiter project only costs 1 to 1.4 billion yuan (about 133 to 187million U.S. dollars), the same amount as the money used to construct 2 km of subway in Beijing, said Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist of the lunar exploration program.

Ouyang said the amount is not an astronomical number for China's economy and will boost the development of national science and technology instead.

"It will generate many new scientific subjects and train a group of talents in aerospace field," he said.

China launched its first lunar probe on Wednesday, marking a new milestone in the country's space exploration history.

The circumlunar satellite Chang'e-1 blasted off on a Long March3A carrier rocket at 6:05 p.m. from the No. 3 launching tower in the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern Sichuan Province.

Editor:Du Xiaodan