http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25356603China says it has successfully landed a craft carrying a robotic rover on the surface of the Moon, a major step in its programme of space exploration.
On Saturday afternoon (GMT), a landing module underwent a powered descent, using thrusters to perform the first soft landing on the Moon in 37 years.
Several hours later, the lander will deploy a robotic rover called Yutu, which translates as "Jade Rabbit".
The touchdown took place on a flat plain called the Bay of Rainbows.
The mission launched on a Chinese-developed Long March 3B rocket on 1 December from Xichang in the country's south.
The Chang'e-3 craft began its descent just after 1300 GMT (2100 Beijing time), with state television showing pictures of the moon's surface as the lander touched down.
Staff at mission control in Beijing were shown clapping and celebrating after confirmation came through. The official Xinhua news service reported that the spacecraft reached the surface at 1312 GMT after hovering above the surface for several minutes finding an appropriate place to land.
The task was described as the mission's "most difficult" in a post on Sina Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, which had been written by the Chinese Academy of Sciences on behalf of the space authorities.
It is the third robotic rover mission to land on the lunar surface, but the Chinese vehicle carries a more sophisticated payload, including ground-penetrating radar which will gather measurements of the lunar soil and crust.
O snap.