China releases HD photos of moon

New Delhi: The China National Space Administration has released true colour, high definition photos of the lunar surface from their recent moon landing.

According to the Tech Crunch, the images were taken a few years ago by cameras on the Chang'e 3 lander and Yutu rover.

In December of 2013, China joined the ranks of Russia and the United States when they successfully soft-landed on the lunar surface, becoming the third country ever to accomplish this feat.

China was the first soft-landing on the moon in 37 years, since the Russians landed their Luna 24 probe back in 1976.

One can create a user account on China's Science and Application Center for Moon and Deepspace Exploration website to download the pictures themselves.

The process is a bit cumbersome and the connection to the website is spotty if one is accessing it outside China.

Chang'e 3, named after the goddess of the Moon in Chinese mythology, was a follow-up mission to Chang'e 1 and Chang'e 2 which were both lunar orbiters.

The objective of the Chang'e 3 mission was to demonstrate the key technologies required for a soft moon landing and rover exploration.

The mission was also equipped with a telescope and instruments to perform geologic analysis of the lunar surface.

China's follow-up mission, Chang'e 4 is scheduled to launch as early as 2018 and plans to land on the far side of the moon.

If this happens, China will become the first nation to land a probe on the lunar far side.