The China National Space Administration released never-before-seen true color, high definition photos of its recent moon landing. The Yutu (Jade Rabbit) rover and the Chang'e lander, which arrived on the lunar surface more than two years ago, captured the spectacular photos.
China joined the ranks of United States and Russia when it successfully accomplished a soft-landing on the Moon on December 2013. The historical event of China's space travel was 37 years in the making, following the landing of Russia's Luna 24 probe in 1976.
China's Science and Application Center for Moon and Deepspace Exploration allows users to create an account and download the photos. The process, however, requires a lot of time and patience since the internet connection may be slower if one is accessing it outside China.
Fortunately, Emily Lakdawalla of the Planetary Society went through the process and hosted the images on the society's website.
China's Historic Soft-Landing
China's Chang'e 3 lander and Yutu rover headed to the moon on Dec. 2 for a two-week journey towards the lunar surface, landing on the orbit five days later. The cameras on the spacecraft snapped 59 photos of the moon as it slowly descended.
Chang'e 3 took its name from the Moon goddess in Chinese mythology. Its mission was to give a demonstration of the technologies necessary for a soft moon landing and rover exploration. After reaching a location called Mare Imbrium, the Chang'e 3 deployed the Yutu, whose name means "Jade Rabbit," referring to the pet rabbit that accompanies Chang'e. Though this was the third lunar mission to carry the name Chang'e, it was the first one to achieve a soft landing on the Moon.
Despite the successful landing, Yutu's inability to shield itself from the intense lunar night temperatures caused mobility issues, leaving it unable to navigate across the surface. In early 2014, it suffered dormancy but was able to send data back to China's base up until March 2015.
The Yutu has been declared non-operational. However, before its death, it provided photos, videos, and data that it sent back to Earth, allowing China's space agency was able to show the public the photos of the Moon in full color.
