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Space & Astronomy

Yutu 2 moon rover sets off to explore far side

By T.K. Randall
January 6, 2019 · Comment icon 34 comments

Yutu 2 has officially begun to explore the lunar surface. Image Credit: CNSA
The roving exploratory vehicle landed on the Moon as part of China's Chang'e 4 mission earlier this month.
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.



Source: Space.com | Comments (34)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #25 Posted by An0n1m0us 5 years ago
Their intent is to explore. The rover will come upon some software or mechanical issues before long, or at least that's the way it will be stated in the media. 
Comment icon #26 Posted by Waspie_Dwarf 5 years ago
Correct. An)n1m)us is just spewing random, untrue, nonsense. I suggest the best course of action is to simply ignore his silliness.
Comment icon #27 Posted by Peter B 5 years ago
Ah, the prediction which can't fail... Yes, the rover will fail at some point, and regardless of when it is you'll be able to congratulate yourself. And there really aren't any other ways for a mechanical device controlled by software to fail, are there?
Comment icon #28 Posted by Nzo 5 years ago
I hope that that little rover has a weapon if it somehow runs into Christof. Hate that guy, I hope he gets his!
Comment icon #29 Posted by gadfly21 5 years ago
Was looking through a list of Moon craft sent there and several craft crashed there after orbiting but no planned landers. The craft China sent before in Change 3 landed up on the north area of Mare Imbrium, not the far side. North of Apollo 15?  I thought the Jade Rabbit rover was a success? This one is like it, except on the south far side with a relay. This little rover is near the Lunar South Pole where several orbital craft of the last 10 years have observed water ice in crater areas.  Probably a good place to explore?   Nothing anomalous or unusual about that. What would be weird and ... [More]
Comment icon #30 Posted by TripGun 5 years ago
I hope they don't get the idea to have a moon rover drag a shovel around to create a giant communist star in sky.
Comment icon #31 Posted by An0n1m0us 5 years ago
That's right Waspie just dismiss comments of those you know bothing about in regards to a subject you know nothing about. Its so common now for everyone to dismiss people as trolls because they do not conform to your ideals. You should just start your own forum based on your personal ideals and opinions. Correct?
Comment icon #32 Posted by An0n1m0us 5 years ago
I remember what happened to the Jade Rabbit. It was televised quite a bit then went away quietly. 
Comment icon #33 Posted by RoofGardener 5 years ago
It got stuck after about 28 days, but carried on transmitting for 3 months before going 'dark'. Not bad really, as it was only projected to work for a month. 
Comment icon #34 Posted by Eldorado 5 years ago
A probe sent by to the far side of the moon by China's space agency has reactivated after two weeks spent hibernating.  Chang'e-4, the moon lander, is back to work after 'sleeping' during the second lunar night, which is equivalent to 14 days on Earth.  The lander woke from its slumber a few hours before its companion rover Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit-2) and both are once again operating as normal. At the Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6760549/Chinas-Change-4-probe-awakens-time-mission-dark-moon.html


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