China's unmanned moon rover has touched down
Final approach - Chang'e 3 close to landing Image: Xinhua/CCTV |
China is now one of only three countries that have successfully landed a remotely-operated vehicle rover on the moon, behind the US and Russia, respectively. The rover landed some 47 years after the USSR landed its Luna 9 spacecraft on the moon's surface.
"Yutu", or "Jade Rabbit", will survey the moon's geology and natural resources, but is also a potent symbol of China's commitment to space exploration. As other nations tighten their belts, China is spending billions of Yuan to explore out space.
According to Xinhua, the government news agency, the rabbit should return to earth sometime in 2017. The probe was attached to Chang'e 3, a spacecraft named after a mythological goddess, which left the Earth on the 2nd of December.
As any astronaut will confirm, space exploration is tiring work and the Jade Rabbit had to take a "nap" on December 16th, according to scientists working closely on the project. However, the probe has since awoken and is dutifully back to conducting science on the Moon.