Chinese rover left its first 40 years, traces of the wheels on the moon ... - Gazeta Wyborcza

Jeep weighs 140 kg (on Earth), called Yutu, which can be translated as jade jade rabbit or rabbit (in Chinese jade and jadeite have a common name). He pulled up the ramp on the lunar surface seven hours after the Change-3 lander settled softly on the basaltic plains of the Gulf of Rainbow. Short film composed of a sequence of photographs documenting the exit Yutu on the lunar surface:

Rainbow Bay is located on the visible side of the Moon in the northwestern part of the Sea of ??Rains. These picturesque names were given at a time when astronomers believed that the moon resembles Earth, and visible in the dark areas of this sea. In Chinese mythology, the goddess accompanied by a rabbit Yutu Change the way to the moon.

Jeep and lander even on a Sunday evening photographed each other. Here are the photos – the first is Yutu proudly exposed red Chinese flag on the other – the lander, from which the rover rolled off earlier in the day:

Soon, the rover will move on the road – at a speed of 200 meters per hour will travel lunar wilderness, photographing, studying and analyzing soil samples. The mission of the rover is planned for three months. Lander’s instruments are working longer – a year.

During the long, two-week lunar night, electronics, ships will be protected against frost heater with radioactive plutonium.

Jade Rabbit is equipped with radar scanners ground and spectrometers to study the chemical composition of rocks and soil. Four cameras are photographing environment. Yutu also has a telescope to conduct astronomical observations from the lunar surface.

The last time I landed on the moon, the Soviet probe Luna in 1976, and the last automatic vehicle (Russian Lunokhod-2) drove there in May 1973, the Americans nor had never returned to the moon after he left her last mission Apollo in 1972

Experts say that the landing on the moon is a technological challenge, because there is no atmosphere, so you can not eg use of parachutes . The vessel must rest on the engines and landing site can not be rocks or faults. Chinese people have succeeded and this is their great success.

China grow into cosmic power – the United States and Russia. As a third country has developed the technology to send humans into Earth orbit in 2006 sent its first probe to the moon, and in 2020 plans to open its orbital station. Some time later, the schedule also provides a Chinese astronaut landing on the moon.