Chinese Lunar Probe Missing: China Lodges Formal Complaint with NASA

Beijing, China (Algae-zebra) - Officials for the National Chinese Space Agency today confirmed that its lunar probe Chang'e-1 had gone missing just after a crucial deployment phase of the mission prior to leaving earth orbit for the moon. A spokesperson for the agency said that the loss of contact with the probe was "highly suspicious", and had registered a formal complaint with NASA in regards to the space shuttle Discovery currently in earth orbit. Chang'e-1 is the first of a series of unmanned lunar probes from China which is to culminate in the future with a lunar landing and sample return mission. The Chinese government also had hopes that Chang'e-1 would also be able to provide photographic proof that the famed American series of manned Apollo missions to the moon never occurred.