China’s dead moon rover, the Jade Rabbit, has “woken” up from its troubled dormancy and received normal signals but experts are still trying to find out the cause of its technical problems, a top official said on Thursday.
Yutu as it called in Chinese language has “come back to life,” Pei Zhaoyu, spokesman for China’s lunar programme was quoted as saying by state-run Xinhua news agency. last night, official media reports said the Yutu was declared dead after it failed to respond to commands. The moon vehicle, China’s first, which was in December last had become inactive before completion of its mission. “Now that it is still alive, the rover stands a chance of being saved,” Pei said.
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 January 25 as the lunar night fell. Experts feared it might never be able to function again.