Chinese rover releases new photos of the moon's far side

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has shared new photos taken by the Yutu-2 lunar rover (“Yutu” is Chinese for “Jade Hare”).

The photographs show traces left by the wheels of the lunar rover, as well as stones and a small crater on the surface of the moon. The photographs were taken after the rover and Chang'e-4 lander emerged from sleep mode on January 15 and 16, respectively. It was the 51st lunar day of their work.

Yutu-2 is powered solely by its solar panels and can only wake up when the sun rises. up to about 15°, and needs to rest at 30° and above as the temperature will be too high for work rover.

A lunar day corresponds to approximately 28 Earth days, of which Yutu-2 spends two-thirds of its time in sleep mode.

Over the previous 50 lunar days of operation, Yutu-2 covered a total of 1455.2 meters, and the lander - 865.1 meters.

Initially, the rover was expected to operate for only three months, but its work eventually dragged on for four Earth years, during which it transmitted more than 940.1 GB of scientific data to Earth.