14 DAY TRIAL // Officials with the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) have announced recently that their lunar rover, called Yutu or Jade Rabbit, has come back to life, in spite of the significant malfunction it suffered at the start of its second, 14-day lunar night.
Due to freezing temperatures on the Moon during the night, the rover was put into hibernation mode, but CNSA scientists were unsure as to whether or not the spacecraft would ever wake up again. Fortunately, with a slight delay, it did, but the mechanical issues that damaged it at the end of January still persist.
At this point, it is still unclear if the machine will ever be able to move again. The mechanical control abnormality it suffered made one of its solar panels get stuck in an open position. During lunar nights, Yutu was supposed to fold its solar panels and store them within its body to prevent damage.
This obviously did not happen during its second lunar night, prompting concerns that both the panel and the interior of the spacecraft – which houses its delicate scientific instruments – may have been damaged severely. On the bright side, Jade Rabbit has now resumed communications with controllers.
The official announcement was made by Pei Zhaoyu, a spokesman for the Chinese space program, quoted by the official news agency Xinhua. The machine is now able to send and receive messages, but experts are still investigating Yutu's status and condition, Zhaoyu reportedly said.
The fact that the rover was able to contact Earth is a small wonder in and of itself, since the extreme cold on the surface of the Moon should have destroyed its communications equipment. Most space experts thought that the mission had already been compromised.
Restoring contact with Yutu may be the first step in addressing the issues it suffers from. However, at this point, it is too early to predict whether or not the tiny six-wheeled exploration robot will recover.
Jade Rabbit was delivered to the lunar surface by the Chang'e-3 lunar lander, the first spacecraft the Chinese ever sent to land on the Moon. The duo arrived at their landing site on December 15, 2013, NPR reports.