Posted: Sat, Nov 15, 2008, 9:27 AM ET (1427 GMT)

A probe ejected from India's first lunar orbit hit the Moon's surface as planned on Friday. The Moon Impact Probe (MIP) was ejected from the Chandrayaan-1 orbiter at 9:36 am EST (1436 GMT, 8:06 pm Indian time) Friday towards the Moon, hitting the surface 25 minutes later. The probe impacted near the Moon's south pole. The probe carried a video camera, radar altimeter, and mass spectromter that returned data during the descent; the probe did not survive the landing, as expected. The probe was also deocrated in the colors of India's flag.