China's Jade Rabbit sends back selfies from moon

China, which entered the records books of space exploration with successful landing of lunar probe Chang'e-3 (also known as Yutu or Jade Rabbi) on the moon, has whipped the international scientific community into a frenzy by releasing the first set of photos that were beamed by the rover.

The Chinese lunar mission has accomplished the first lunar landing in almost 4 decades and the images the probe has sent back show the first closeup look of the moon's Sinus Iridum region. The shots feature the Jade Rabbit rover on the lunar surface with its solar array extended to generate power for the autonomous rover.

The Jade Rabbit rover, or Yutu, was named after the Chinese lunar goddess. This is a fitting name for a lunar exploration robot and the early photos show the rovers track marks imprinted clearly on the lunar surface. One of the the key missions of the rover is to look for natural resources such as titanium and uranium.

The rover separated from the landing module at 4:35am, or a few hours after the Chang'e-3 landed on the moon. The first photos were taken at 11:42pm showing the rover's initial movement near the lander. After the photos were taken, the images were beamed back to the mission's control center in the Beijing Aerospace Control Center. The Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and the Chinese President Xi Jinping were onsite to view the images after they were transmitted.

With the successful landing of the lunar probe, China is the third country to join a very small and elite club of nations who have successfully landed on the moon. The mission is also considered to be a large leap forward for a nation who has struggled with economic problems and has come out on top. In fact, the state-run news agency China Daily has covered the landing extensively referring to it as the "Great Moon Mission."

While the Chang'e-3 mission was a huge step forward for China, the country has its sights set on even bigger accomplishments. The country hopes to establish a space station by the year 2020 and eventually, it also plans on landing the first Chinese on the moon.