China's lunar rover wakes after mechanical issues
English.news.cn 2014-02-13 13:10:13
Xinhua file photo
by Xinhua Writers Wang Cong, Tian Ye
BEIJING, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's moon rover Yutu has "woken" after its troubled dormancy but experts are still trying to find out the cause of its technical problems, a spokesman with the country's lunar probe program said on Thursday.
"Yutu has come back to life," said Pei Zhaoyu, after a period in which the rover's inactivity had threatened the completion of its mission.
Pei said Yutu, named after the pet of a lunar goddess in ancient Chinese mythology, has now returned to a state where it can receive signals as normal once again. But experts are still working to verify the cause of its mechanical control issues.
Yutu was designed to roam the lunar surface to survey the moon's geological structure and surface substances and look for natural resources. It was expected to work on the moon for at least three months.
But problems emerged before the rover entered its second dormancy on the moon on Jan. 25 as the lunar night fell. Experts feared that it might never be able to function again.
"Yutu went to sleep under an abnormal status," Pei said, adding that experts had been concerned that it might not be able to survive the extremely low temperatures during the lunar night.
One night on the moon is about 14 days on Earth, during which the temperature falls below minus 180 degrees Celsius. During the lunar night, there is no sunlight to provide power to Yutu's solar panel. In this period, the rover is expected to stay in a power-off mode and communication with Earth is also cut off.
Yutu entered the first period of dormancy on Dec. 26 as the mission's first lunar night arrived, and "woke up" on Jan. 11. It was originally scheduled to wake up from the second dormant period on Feb. 10.
"Now that it is still alive, the rover stands a chance of being saved," Pei said.
The news caused a splash in China's social networking circles.
On Sina Weibo, China's Twitter, the "Yutu Lunar Rover" account, which has followed the developments of the mission from a first-person perspective, posted its first update since the mechanical problems.
"Hi, anybody there?" it asked in a post, which prompted some 60,000 reposts and 40,000 comments within two hours.
"We are all here," one Weibo user replied.
"Hold on there, the whole country's got your back," another wrote.
Some joked about the rover being a "foodie" waking up for rice dumplings, a must-have delicacy for China's Lantern Festival that falls on Friday.
"Which would you prefer? Chocolates or rice dumplings?" asked one user with the screen name "shengkongtangjiang." This year's Lantern Festival falls on the same day as Valentine's Day.
Fans overseas also posted messages on Twitter.
"Makes me want to dance a jig," one user wrote minutes after the official @XHNews account posted the news that Yutu had woken up.
"PRC engineers & scientists shld [sic] be proud of their excellent work, & congratulations to them from all of humankind," another user named "jeffsonstein" said.
Lunar probe mission failures are not rare. In April 1962, U.S. lunar probe Ranger 4 crashed into the dark side of the moon after equipment failure prevented it from returning pictures and scientific data.
Yutu touched down on the moon's surface on Dec. 15, several hours after China's lunar probe Chang'e-3 soft-landed on the moon on Dec. 14.
Chang'e-3 is part of the second phase of China's lunar program, which includes orbiting, landing and returning to Earth. It follows the success of the Chang'e-1 and Chang'e-2 missions in 2007 and 2010.
China is the third country in the world to successfully soft-land on the moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.
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Netizens extend blessings to troubled lunar rover
2014-01-26 16:55:20
BEIJING, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Tens of thousands of Chinese netizens have sent their blessings to lunar rover Yutu (Jade Rabbit) after it experienced major trouble.
A mechanical control abnormality occurred to Yutu because of the "complicated lunar surface environment," said China's State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND) on Saturday. Repair work is ongoing.
The news caused a splash on China's social networking circles.
People not only hailed the authority's openness to the accident, but also expressed concern.
By Sunday afternoon, more than 36,000 reposts had been generated under the "yueqiucheyutu" or "lunar rover yutu" account on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter.
The weibo account is believed to belong to space enthusiasts who have been following Yutu's journey to the moon. It has more than 110,000 followers.
Many netizens fear for the troubled rover's destiny.
"You have done a great job Yutu. You have endured extreme hot and cold temperatures and shown us what we have never seen. Hope you get well soon, but no matter what, it is your presence that makes the planet about 390 thousand kilometers away dazzling," wrote "Amaniandlove".
Zhang Yian, a Beijing-based writer, said Yutu has shouldered more than just the hope of China's space industry but also the dreams of the Chinese people. "This is too heavy a burden. If the rabbit can not stand again, maybe we should let it have a rest."
"Tanwie" wrote on weibo, "Space exploration, the more gorgeous a view you see, the more dangerous it can be."
The problem happened just before Yutu was about to begin its second dormancy in the lunar night. One night on the moon is about 14 days on Earth. During this time, the temperature falls below minus 180 Celsius.
The rover has obtained scientific data through its radar, panorama camera, a particle X-ray device and infrared imaging equipment, according to the SASTIND.
The rover was expected to stay on the moon for at least three months after it separated from the Chang'e-3 probe which soft-landed on the moon on Dec. 14.
Saturday also marked the 10th anniversary of rover Opportunity's landing on Mars. A weibo account called "NASAzhongwen" or "Chinese NASA," posted a message on Sina Weibo, wishing Yutu to get well soon.
The account has no official connection with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, but it has documented space activities as well as the journey of Mars rovers Opportunity and
Curiosity.
Compared with Opportunity's 10 years on Mars, Yutu's one-month stay is not long. But the occurrence of such an abnormality is normal, said Yang Yuguang, a researcher from China Aerospace Science & Industry Corp., deeming the Chang'e 3 probe mission as one of the most difficult in the country's space exploration.
Human kind has only achieved a 51 percent success rate on lunar probe missions among the 130 in total, according to China's lunar probe program chief designer Wu Weiren, in an earlier interview with Xinhua.
"There is no smooth way ahead. Whether or not we can overcome this difficult situation, it's a big lesson for our lunar exploration research," said Yang.
On Sunday afternoon, messages continued to be posted on Sina Weibo. "Come on little rabbit, you must hang on in there to see the Spring Festival fireworks," wrote "Dourentao".
Netizens extend blessings to troubled lunar rover - Xinhua | English.news.cn
