Because of the planned maneuvers, the fuel that the 2,300-kg Chang'e-1 carries accounts for nearly half of the satellite's total weight.

Chang'e-1 successfully completed its first braking and entered the moon's orbit at around 11:37 a.m. on Monday, which made it become a "real" circumlunar satellite.

The probe is expected to fulfil four scientific objectives, including a three-dimensional survey of the Moon's surface, analysis of the abundance and distribution of elements on lunar surface, an investigation of the characteristics of lunar regolith and the powdery soil layer on the surface, and an exploration of the circumstance between the earth and the moon.