BEIJING, March 1 (RIA Novosti) - China's first lunar probe has ended its 16-month mission with a planned crash into the moon's surface, the official news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday.

The Chang'e-1 lunar satellite hit the moon's surface at 4.13 p.m. Beijing time on Sunday, Xinhua said, citing sources at the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.

The Chang'e-1 satellite was launched into space in October 2007 and, after orbiting the moon thousands of times, sent the first full map of the moon's surface back to China a month later, the agency said.

The lunar probe was the first stage of China's program to launch a vehicle into the moon in 2012, the agency said.