CCTV9英语新闻12月：嫦娥3移动到接近月球轨道

（单词翻译:单击）

China's lunar probe Chang'e-3 has moved a step closer to the moon. The probe descended¹ from a 100 kilometer-high lunar orbit to an elliptical orbit with its nearest point, just 15 kilometers from the moon's surface.

China's lunar probe Chang'e-3 entered an orbit closer to the moon on Dec. 10, 2013. (Xinhua)

The State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense² says the transition was made while the probe transited³ the dark side of the moon at 9:20 p.m. on Tuesday, Beijing time. The transition took around four minutes. Chang’e-3 will now prepare for a soft-landing on the moon’s surface. T

he probe, which is carrying the moon rover "Yutu", was successfully launched on December the 2nd, from China’s Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The moon landing is set to take place around mid-December, the first time a Chinese spacecraft has made a soft landing on a non-earth surface.

China's lunar probe Chang'e-3 is expected to land on Sinus Iridum of the moon in mid-December. (Xinhua)