China launched its second unmanned lunar probe, Chang'e-2 on Friday, inaugurating the second phase of a three-step moon mission, which will culminate in a soft-landing on the moon.

At 6:59:57 p.m., the satellite blasted off on a Long March 3C carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

"Chang'e-2 lays foundation for the soft-landing on the moon around 2013and further exploration of outer space," said Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar orbiter project.

Chang'e-2 entered the orbit with a perigee of 200 kilometers and apogee of 380,000 kilometers at 7:26 p.m. as scheduled. There it separated from the carrier rocket.

It was the first time that a Chinese lunar probe directly entered the earth-moon transfer orbit without orbiting the earth first.

"It is a major breakthrough of the rocket design, as it saves energy used by the satellite and speeds up the journey to the lunar orbit," said Pang Zhihao, a researcher with the China Academy of Space Technology.

The lunar satellite is expected to take about 112 hours, or almost five days, to arrive at its lunar orbit, faster than the 14 days taken by the Chang'e-1 three years ago.

"It travels faster and closer to the moon, and it will capture clear pictures," Wu said.

The control center declared the launch a success, after the solar panels of the lunar probe were unfolded and the satellite began to use solar energy for power supply.

Thousands of people witnessed the event from a venue 4 kilometers away from the launch pad. Residents at downtown of Xichang fired fireworks to celebrate the successful launch.

Chang'e-2, named after a legendary Chinese goddess of moon, will orbit 100 kilometers above the moon, compared with 200 kilometers for Chang'e-1.

The satellite will be maneuvered into an orbit just 15 kilometer above the moon. At that point, Chang'e-2 will take pictures of moon's Bay of Rainbows area, the proposed landing ground for Chang'e-3, with a resolution of 1.5 meters. The resolution on Chang'e-1's camera was 120 meters.

If Chang'e-2 sends back high-resolution photos of the Bay of Rainbows, which is considered one of the most beautiful features on the moon, the mission can be deemed a complete success, Wu said.

Wu said four to five areas had been chosen for a landing ground for Chang'e-3, but the Bay of Rainbows would be the first choice.

"The geological structure in this area is diverse, so a probe there would have greater scientific value," he said.

"Other places on the moon have already been landed on, so we want to choose one that has not been explored before," he said.

Long March 3C rocket carrying China's second unmanned lunar probe, Chang'e-2, lifts off from the launch pad at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, at 18:59:57 (Beijing time)on Oct. 1, 2010.