TOKYO, Dec. 5 (China Space News) -- China's Chang'e-4 mission was awarded the Moon Village Principles - Mission Prize by The Moon Village Association (MVA) at a symposium held in Tokyo Thursday, becoming one of the first projects to win the award.

Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar exploration project, attended the MVA symposium and delivered a keynote speech, expressing appreciation to the association and the award committee on behalf of the Chang'e-4 mission team.

Besides the Chang'e-4 mission, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) of the United States and Chandrayaan-2 of India also received the award.

The Chang'e-4 probe made the first-ever soft landing on the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon on Jan. 3, 2019. The complete success of the Chang'e-4 mission has created another milestone in the lunar exploration history of humankind.

The MVA was created in 2017 as a non-governmental organization based in Vienna, aiming to create a permanent global informal forum for stakeholders like governments, industry, academia and the general public interested in moon exploration projects.