The Chinese Chang’e 3 lunar lander/rover combo is set to launch this Monday, December 2nd at 1:20 am local time (Sunday, 12:20 pm EST, 5:20 pm GMT) from the the Xichang space center in Sichuan province in southwestern China. It will land on the Moon on December 14th.

The  rover is named Yutu or Jade Rabbit  (see earlier post here) .

This would be the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon since the Soviet Union put the Luna 24 rover on the Moon  in 1976.

• Chinese moon lander on the verge of launch – Spaceflight Now
• China to launch Chang’e-3 lunar probe early Monday – Xinhua
• Good weather before Chang´e-3´s launch in Xichang – CCTV News  (video, see below)
• Senior advisor explains key details of lunar mission – CCTV News (video, see below)
• Coming soon: China launches Chang’e-3 lunar probe – China.org.cn Live
• China Will Kick Off December By Launching A Probe To The Moon – Forbes