China's space program has defended a photo of the moon's surface taken by its lunar probe as authentic, dismissing critics who suggested it had been copied from a similar image captured by a U.S. orbiter.

As the rocket carrying China's first lunar probe blasted off Wednesday evening, it left in its wake a vapor trail of questions about the nature of Asia's new space race. The continent's giants are jockeying for position beyond the Earth's atmosphere.

China's lunar orbiter project costs only 1 bln yuan: chief scientist XICHANG, Sichuan, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's milestone lunar orbiter project only costs 1 to 1.4 billion yuan (about 133 to 187million U.S.

China's space administration said Monday it is preparing to launch a moon orbiter, marking the country's first step in lunar exploration. The orbiter is expected to be launched this week from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province, Xinhua reported.

Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency) ["Chinese Experts Suggest Ending Chang'e I by Having It Bump Into the Moon" - Xinhua headline] Guiyang, Aug.