Space & Astronomy

Yutu 2 moon rover sets off to explore far side

By T.K. Randall
January 6, 2019

Image: Eugene Cernan on the Moon During the Apollo 17 Mission
Credit: Harrison Schmitt (1972) / (PD) NASA Situated within the 2,500km-wide South Pole-Aitken basin, the Chinese lander and rover are the first ever to touch down on the unexplored far side of the Moon which always points away from the Earth.

A newly released image (see above) shows Yutu 2 sitting on the lunar surface after having trundled down its exit ramp and a few meters across the soil, leaving two distinctive wheel tracks behind it.The rover is designed to operate for at least three months. It is equipped with a panoramic camera, a ground penetrating radar system, a spectrometer and an energetic neutral atom analyzer.

Some new photographs taken by Queqiao (the relay satellite) can also be viewed below.

Finally, some images from Queqiao, the relay satellite for the Chang'e-4 far side mission, showing the Earth and Moon! Queqiao is in a halo orbit at a Lagrange point 65,000-80,000 beyond the Moon to relay comms between Earth & CE-4 on the far side (H/T @LaunchStuff). pic.twitter.com/EZFYl70YBg

— Andrew Jones (@AJ_FI) January 4, 2019

Source: Space.com

Tags: China, Moon