Chinese rover powers up devices in pioneering moon mission
▻https://phys.org/news/2019-01-chinese-rover-powers-devices-moon.html
In this photo provided on Jan. 4, 2019, by China National Space Administration via Xinhua News Agency, Yutu-2, China’s lunar rover, leaves wheel marks after leaving the lander that touched down on the surface of the far side of the moon. China’s space agency says that all systems are go for its spacecraft and rover that have made a pioneering landing on the far side of the moon.
China National Space Administration/Xinhua News Agency via AP
All systems are go as a Chinese spacecraft and rover power up their observation equipment after making a first-ever landing on the far side of the moon, the Chinese National Space Administration said.
The #Jade_Rabbit_2 rover has succeeded in establishing a digital transmission link with a relay satellite that sends data back to the Beijing control center, the space agency said in a posting late Friday on its website.
The rover’s radar and panoramic camera have been activated and are working normally, it said. A photo released by the agency showed the rover stopped at a point not far from where the Chang’e 4 spacecraft touched down Thursday.
Chang’e 4, named after a Chinese moon goddess, is the first craft to make a soft landing on the moon’s far side, which faces away from Earth. Previous landings, including one by China’s Chang’e 3 in 2013, have been on the near side.