A Chinese spacecraft sent back photos of the lunar surface and the unmanned rover that it brought there, as authorities dubbed the latest step in the country’s space program a “complete success.”

The Jade Rabbit rover emerged from the Chang’e-3 yesterday and the two began taking photos hours after China became the first country since 1976, and the third ever, to land a spacecraft on the moon. Chinese state television distributed photographs taken from the Chang’e-3 that showed the rover, its two solar panels extended, after it rolled down two metal tracks onto the lunar surface.

The launch is part of China’s growing space exploration ambitions, an effort which has seen the country spend billions of dollars even as other nations cut back. The next mission, set for 2017, will involve landing a spacecraft on the moon and returning it to Earth, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Chinese state media have described the space program as an element of the “Chinese Dream,” a slogan unveiled by President Xi Jinping that signifies a stronger military and improved livelihoods. China is also planning a manned mission to the moon in the coming years.

Xi and Premier Li Keqiang were present at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center when officials declared the mission a success, according to Xinhua.

“Now as Jade Rabbit has made its touchdown on the moon surface, the whole world again marvels at China’s remarkable space capabilities,” Xinhua said in a Dec. 14 roundup of world reaction to the mission.

China sent its first man into orbit in 2003 and conducted its first spacewalk in 2008. The U.S. and the Soviet Union are the only other nations to send rovers to the moon.