BEIJING, Dec 14: China on Saturday carried out the first soft landing on the moon since 1976, joining the United States and former Soviet Union in accomplishing the feat in a major step for Beijing’s ambitious space programme.

The emerging superpower is also set to become the third country to complete a lunar rover mission when it deploys its Yutu, or Jade Rabbit vehicle.

Scientists burst into applause as a computer-generated image representing the spacecraft, named Chang’e-3, was seen landing on the moon’s surface via screens at a Beijing control centre, state broadcaster Chinese Central Television (CCTV) showed.

“Chang’e-3 has successfully carried out a soft landing on the moon. This makes China the world’s third nation to achieve a lunar soft landing,” said the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in an online post on the mission’s official page on Sina Weibo, a Chinese Twitter equivalent.—AFP