中国人热盼“嫦娥奔月”

More than two thirds of the nation want to see the launch of Chang’e I, China’s first lunar orbiter live on TV, according to a survey.

More than two thirds of the nation want to see the launch of Chang’e I, China’s firstlunar orbiter live on TV, according to a survey.

According to the survey by China Youth Daily and www.qq.com, almost the entire nation wants to catch images of the event at some point, with 99 percent of the 10,358 respondents saying they expected to witness the satellite launch and 68.9 percent said they were certain to watch the live broadcast of the launch.

On www.qq.com and www.sina.com, two popular web portals in the country, internet users have contributed some 2,000 poems and 5000 drawings on the theme of Chang'e I.

"The satellite launch means much more than just saying 'hello' to the moon. Maybe in the future we could also send some people to accompany sister 'Chang'e'," said a college student in the survey.

Remarkably, many people expect to visit the moon one day, with 93.4 percent of respondents saying they expected to do so.

Chang'e I is named after Chang'e, a famous character from Chinese mythology. She ascended from earth to live on the moon as a celestial being after drinking an elixir.

The satellite will be launched between Wednesday and Friday, with 6 pm today being the best choice, a spokesman for the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said on Monday. Preparations are almost complete for the launch of the country's first lunar orbiter, according to a spokesman for the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

一项调查显示，超过三分之二的中国人表示会收看我国首个月球探测器——“嫦娥一号”卫星发射的电视直播实况。

据该项由中国青年报和腾讯网联合开展的调查，几乎所有的中国人都想观看“嫦娥一号”的发射盛况。在10358名受访者中，99%的人称希望亲眼见证“嫦娥奔月”，68.9%的人说他们一定会收看电视直播。

截至目前，腾讯网和新浪网两大门户网站共收集网友创作的有关“嫦娥一号”的诗作约2000篇，画作约5000幅。

一名大学生说：“这次探月行动不仅仅是到月球串个门，和嫦娥姐姐打个招呼这么简单。说不定以后还能派几个人给嫦娥姐姐时不常地做个伴。”

调查发现，很多人（93.4%的受访者）希望有朝一日能到月球上看看。

“嫦娥一号”卫星得名于中国神话传说中家喻户晓的人物“嫦娥”。她吃下长生不老药后化作仙女，从地球升到了月球上。

国家航天局的一位发言人于本周一公布，“嫦娥一号”将于本周三至周五择机发射，今天下午六时是最佳发射时机。西昌卫星发射中心的一位发言人称，发射前的所有准备工作已基本完成。

lunar orbiter:月球探测器