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China's first moon rover sets record for longest stay
Xinhua, October 29, 2015
China's first lunar rover, Yutu, has been operating on the moon for almost two years, setting the record for the longest stay by a rover, according to a Chinese lunar probe scientist.
Yutu was deployed and landed on the moon via China's Chang'e-3 lunar probe in 2013, staying longer than the Soviet Union's 1970 moon rover Lunokhod 1, which spent 11 months on the moon.
Its operations have streamed live through Sina Weibo, a Chinese microblogging site, and its Weibo account has nearly 600,000 followers.
Yutu experienced a mechanical control abnormality in 2014, but it was revived within a month and, though it is unable to move, it continues to collect data, send and receive signals, and record images and video.
"Human history is relatively short, and people are brimming over with curiosity about the universe," said Ye Peijian, chief scientist with China's Chang'e-3 program. "We have to explore more by going out."
The launch of Dongfanghong-1, China's first satellite, in 1970 made China the fifth country to launch a domestic satellite using a domestic rocket, following the Soviet Union, the United States, France and Japan.
China launched its manned space program in the 1990s and successfully sent Yang Liwei, the country's first astronaut, into orbit on the Shenzhou-5 spacecraft in 2003.
The Chang'e-1 mission in 2007 inaugurated an era of Chinese lunar exploration, followed by Chang'e-2 and Chang'e-3, with the latter marking completion of the second phase of China's lunar program, which includes orbiting, landing and returning to Earth.
Chang'e-3 delivered the rover and a stationary lander to the lunar surface in 2013, making China the third country after the Soviet Union and the United States to carry out such a mission.
Meanwhile, China is planning to be the first country to land a lunar probe on the far side of the moon, or "dark side of the moon," which is never visible to Earth.
The mission will be carried out by Chang'e-4, a backup probe for Chang'e-3, according to Ye.
Yutu, has set the record for being the longest working moon rover.So finally, China moon rover, Yutu is a success? even better than Lunokhod?
Congrat !!!
Yutu, has set the record for being the longest working moon rover.
Yutu has been working for nearly two year now. Which is better then the last record holder, Lunokhod 1 (11 months long) of the Soviet Union. The US has never use an autonomous moon rover.
Yutu is China first ever attempt at an extra-terrestrial autonomous rover, which run into a problem of not being able to move after a while, so it is able to travel only a short distance. Hopefully China can learn from the problem, and improve in future rover mission.
Yutu is still working, so it could probably add more to the record,
wonderful.
share us recent photos from its imager pls.
View attachment 268466
From yutu, 'Mother earth, I miss you!' 5th of November 2015
Does Russian Lunokhod still take photo and send back signal after 1 and half year first landed on moon?
During its 322 Earth days of operations, Lunokhod travelled 10,540 metres (6.55 miles) and returned more than 20,000 TV images and 206 high-resolution panoramas. In addition, it performed 25 lunar soil analyses with its RIFMA x-ray fluorescence spectrometer and used its penetrometer at 500 different locations.
Excellent.
For comparison to Lunokhod 1, it doesn't make sense.
Lunokhod 1 worked perfectly as designed, while Yutu didn't.
I didn't say Lunokhod dont work as designed but isn't a fact Yutu still send back image and signal in a lifespan more than lunokhod?
okay, Lunokhod was born when the first mobile phone produced, and it worked as a horse while Yutu didn't spend much energy on what they want it to work.
Battery tech improved a lot.
That's all I can tell.
It's just like I emptied my fuel tank travel all over China and made as many contacts as I can, while you stayed still in Beijing with your full fuel tank on a broken car and take some pictures in Tiananmen Square.
After a half of a century, after many improvements, we could expect more on a unmanned rover.
So you shall not have expect Russia workhorse rocket like proton M explode in Mar 2015 since its introduction in 2001? But why it happen?
As for unmanned rover, let me remind all reader. For lunar rover mission, only 2 rover ever attempt in whole history. That is Lunokhod and Yutu. The rover needs to survive -165 degree Celsius condition which is much much harsh than condition on Mars. A unmanned rover has lesser chance of breakdown and failure on Mars than moon.