China has successfully landed its rover on the moon, making it the third country to ever perform a soft-landing on the lunar surface.

According to Space.com, the Chang'e lander and the Yutu rover landed on the moon Saturday just after 8 a.m. EST, which was late at night for Beijing's mission control center. The spacecraft took off Dec. 2, arrived in about a week and landed after orbiting the moon for several days.

CLICK HERE for photos from the Chang'e spacecraft.

China now joins the U.S. and the Soviet Union as the only nations to perform a "soft-landing," which means allowing for operation on the surface following the landing, on the moon. It is also the first one in 37 years.

"Yutu" means Jade Rabbit, an animal from Chinese legends where. Chang'e, which is the name of a Chinese goddess, is the third lunar mission made by China. In the legend, Chang'e and her pet Jade Rabbit make journeys to the moon.

Paul D. Spudis, a scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, told the New York Times China's Chang'e mission is a precursor for future missions. A showcase of the nation's technology, the Yutu rover is apparently capable of carrying a load a dozen times greater than its 309-pound frame.

"Although it will do some new science, its real value is to flight-qualify a new and potentially powerful lunar surface payload delivery system," Spudis said.

The lander is expected to remain on the moon for a year, while the rover will be operational for three months. Future missions will involve China sending a rover capable of collecting and bringing back samples.

Joan Johnson-Freese, a professor at the U.S. Naval War College on Rhode Island told the NYT the soft-landing could also be a prelude to a manned mission to the moon. However, China does not officially have that sort of mission planned.

"Certainly, they are putting all the building blocks in place, so that if they make that policy decision, they can move forward," said Johnson-Freese. "But the Chinese are not risk-takers. They are not going to approve that program until they are sure they are capable of all those building blocks."