Beijing held a grand ceremony at the Great Hall of the People Wednesday morning to celebrate the success of the first stage of China's lunar probe program.

President Hu Jintao is to deliver a speech at the assembly.

Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the top legislature, presided over the meeting.

Chang'e-1, named after a mythical Chinese goddess who, according to legend, flew to the moon, blasted off on a Long March 3A carrier rocket on Oct. 24 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan.

The satellite traveled nearly two million kilometers in its 15-day flight to the moon and reached its final working orbit with a fixed altitude of 200 kilometers on Nov. 7.

The China National Space Administration released the first picture of the moon captured by Chang'e-1 on Nov. 26, marking the full success of the first stage of the country's lunar probe program.

(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2007)