Jan 13, 2015 09:59 AM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

China's unmanned spacecraft's service module has started orbiting the moon after performing three preparatory orbit transfers since Sunday.

According to Xinhua News, China's state-run news agency, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) confirmed the craft's movements on Tuesday.

The spacecraft is doing well in terms of energy and the state of its equipment, while the ground control team has also reported things running smoothly along. The craft launched Oct. 24 and the capsule separated shortly after and returned to Earth on Nov. 1 after an eight-day mission.

"After the circular flight stabilizes, the module will travel along the current orbit at an altitude of 200 km above the moon's surface for tests to validate key technologies for the next lunar probe mission, Chang'e-5," Zhao Wenbo, vice director of SASTIND's lunar probe and space project center, told Xinhua News.

For China, the mission is a major step forward and the country's space agency is apparently building toward landing on the moon and returning to Earth. Chang'e-5 is tentatively slated for a 2017 launch.

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