Change

Chang'e is the name of the Chinese lunar exploration program, as well as the mythological Chinese Moon goddess. The program is named after the goddess, who, according to legend, flew to the Moon after consuming the pill of immortality. In Hebrew, the name is transliterated as צ'אנג'ה, in Japanese as チャンエ (Chan'e), and in Korean as 창어 (Chang'e). The program's first mission, Chang'e-1, was launched on October 24, 2007, making China the third country to achieve lunar orbit after the Soviet Union and the United States. The program's ultimate goal is to land a human on the Moon, with robotic missions serving as precursors to this achievement. The missions are named after the goddess, with each subsequent mission numbered sequentially (e.g., Chang'e-2, Chang'e-3, etc.).