China just released photos of its first moon landing and the rover that made history
The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program released photos of its first moon landing to the public late last month.
It took place in 2013, when China set its rover, called Yutu — Chinese for "Jade Rabbit" — down in one of the largest craters in the solar system, Mare Imbrium.
The rover would later go on to make history by setting the record for operating longer than any lunar rover before it.
Now we can explore Mare Imbrium through the eyes of Yutu and its lander for the first time. Check out some of the photos below.
Most of these images are compilations of multipledatabase photos stitched together by Emily Lakdawalla, editor of The Planetary Society, for this post.
The mission marks the first time humans have landed anything on the Moon since the '70s. The lander (shown here) first touched down on December 14, 2013 and deployed the Yutu rover 7.5 hours later.
Here's a shot of Yutu making tracks across the moon's surface, which it did for about a month after touchdown before losing the ability to move. Still, Yutu continued to send information for months after that, and last October, it broke the record for operating longer than any other lunar rover in history.
Chinese engineers placed cameras on both the lander (shown below) and the Yutu rover, which took this photo on Jan. 13, 2014 — just two days before the rover's motor failed and it lost mobility.
Engineers attached two instruments to Yutu: One used radar to penetrate 98 feet below the surface, providing the first direct analysis of the soil's structure and depth. The second instrument analyzed the chemical composition of lunar surface samples, like rock and dirt.
The rover discovered that Mare Imbrium, one of the largest craters in the solar system, is compositionally different from the locations where NASA and Russia have landed their lunar missions. Yutu also found evidence of 9 distinct rock layers beneath the crater's surface, which was surprisingly complex compared to what scientists expected to find.
So far, Yutu (shadow shown here) is the only rover China has landed on the Moon, but it probably won't be the last. China plans to launch another lander similar to Yutu by the end of 2018 and land it on the far side of the Moon soon after.
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It took place in 2013, when China set its rover, called Yutu — Chinese for "Jade Rabbit" — down in one of the largest craters in the solar system, Mare Imbrium.
The rover would later go on to make history by setting the record for operating longer than any lunar rover before it.
Now we can explore Mare Imbrium through the eyes of Yutu and its lander for the first time. Check out some of the photos below.
Most of these images are compilations of multipledatabase photos stitched together by Emily Lakdawalla, editor of The Planetary Society, for this post.
The mission marks the first time humans have landed anything on the Moon since the '70s. The lander (shown here) first touched down on December 14, 2013 and deployed the Yutu rover 7.5 hours later.
So far, Yutu (shadow shown here) is the only rover China has landed on the Moon, but it probably won't be the last. China plans to launch another lander similar to Yutu by the end of 2018 and land it on the far side of the Moon soon after.
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