China has blasted into space on Monday its first ever moon rover mission.

China's Chang'e-3 lunar probe, carrying the Yutu or Jade Rabbit buggy, was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in China's southwestern Sichuan province at 1.30 am (1730 GMT) on board an enhanced Long March-3B carrier rocket.

Chang'e 3 is expected to land on the moon in mid-December, the first spacecraft in 37 years to touch down again the lunar surface. The last one was done in 1976 during the former Soviet Union's robotic Luna 24 sample return mission.

Videou Source: YouTube/ARIRANG NEWS

AFP reported that Zhang Zhenzhong, director of the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, was seen on CCTV telling staff within an hour of launch that the mission has been a "success."

"We will strive for our space dream as part of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation," he said. "Let's all work together ... to make more efforts in space exploration and realize the Chinese dream."

Visitors take pictures of a prototype model of a lunar rover at the 15th China International Industry Fair in Shanghai, November 5, 2013. China will land its first probe on the moon in early December which will deploy a buggy to explore its surface, an official said on November 26, marking a major milestone in the country's space ambitions. Picture taken November 5, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer

Chinese netizens immediately took to Sina Weibo, the country's Twitter version, to express their collective nationalistic pride.

"Every time they launch a rocket, it's very moving," a user wrote. "Soon, Chinese people will be able to go to the moon."

"This makes Chinese people get excited and forget their own bad situation," wrote another.

Aside from exploring the moon's surface, the rover has been equipped to look for natural resources. It will set up a telescope on the moon, "for the first time in human history, to observe the plasmasphere over the Earth and survey the moon surface through radar," according to Xinhua News.

"The moon remains largely unexplored," independent space analyst Morris Jones, who is based in Australia, told AFP. "I expect that the Chinese rover will probably throw a few surprises our way scientifically."

"The Chinese are making rapid advances in spaceflight," he added. "They're going to get a lot of prestige out of this mission."

Scientists from China have hinted they could send a human to the moon after 2020.