Shanghai Daily news

The logo of China's lunar probe mission was produced just before the deadline of a nationwide contest, its Shanghai native designer has told a local newspaper.

Designer Gu Yongjiang said he came up with the idea for the logo while he was brushing his teeth on the deadline day of the contest, the Youth Daily reported yesterday.

The 28-year-old added he submitted the logo one hour before the deadline, the report said. The contest, organized by the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, was meant to select the best logo for China's lunar project.

China's first satellite of lunar probe mission, Chang'e 1, blasted off at Xichang Launch Center in Sichuan Province at 6:05pm yesterday. The orbiter is named after the goddess in Chinese mythology, who flew to the moon and lived there.

Gu's logo, titled Over the Moon, is derived from the Chinese character yue, (moon) which has a similar shape to a crescent. The two strokes in its middle resemble a pair of footsteps. This embodies mankind's dream to walk on the moon, the report said.

Gu added that the arc of a stroke in the character represented a flying dragon, a symbol of China, the report said.

The logo was a combination of Chinese cultural elements and the common dream of all mankind, according to Gu.