Chinese space probe flies by Toutatis

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Chinese space probe flies by asteroid Toutatis

BEIJING, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's space probe Chang'e-2 has successfully conducted a maneuver in which it flew by the asteroid Toutatis, about seven million km away from the Earth.

Travelling in deep space, Chang'e-2 made the flyby on Dec. 13 at 16:30:09 Beijing Time (08:30"09 GMT), the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) announced on Saturday.

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Edited March 15, 2013 by Waspie_Dwarf

[Waspie_Dwarf]

This is one of the first images of Toutatis released by the Chinese National Space Agency (CNSA). They will release higher resolution images later.

Credit CNSA

[RaptorBites]

This is one of the first images of Toutatis released by the Chinese National Space Agency (CNSA). They will release higher resolution images later.

Credit CNSA

What amazes me most is that fact the China was able to move the probe off it's lunar orbit to an exact position for this beautiful photograph.

I am simply floored!

Edited December 15, 2012 by RaptorBites