China picks top 30 songs for moon satellite

BEIJING, Oct 7 (Reuters) China marked Friday's Moon Festival by announcing 30 songs to be broadcast to Earth next year from its first lunar-probing satellite.

The song that got the most votes was the folk ballad, ''My Wonderful Home Town'', followed by ''I Love China'', ''Singing Praises of Motherland'' and 27 others, Xinhua news agency said.

The songs were chosen according to public votes and by a panel of experts, organised by the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, China Central Television and the China Musicians' Association.

''Experts said these songs can express Chinese people's love for the motherland, for life, peace and their pursuit of truth and nature, which will showcase the beauty of Chinese culture and its influence,'' Xinhua said.

China's national anthem and ''The East is Red'', a tribute to Mao Zedong, which was broadcast in 1970 from the country's first man-made terrestrial satellite, will also be played.

The lunar satellite is designed to obtain 3D images of the lunar surface, analyse elements and probe the depth of the lunar soil. It will orbit the moon for one year.

Last October, two Chinese astronauts rocketed into orbit and promptly helped themselves to pineapple-filled mooncakes, traditional fare during the Mid-Autumn, or Moon, Festival.

China puts its first man in orbit in 2003.

REUTERS AKJ KP0953