Yutu (rover)

This article is about the first Yutu rover, the Chang'e-3 Chinese lunar rover. For the active Chinese lunar rover, see Yutu-2.

Yutu
玉兔
Yutu rover on lunar surface
Mission typeLunar rover
OperatorCNSA osrg
COSPAR ID2013-070C Edit this at Wikidata
Mission duration3 months (planned)[1]
Actual: 973 days
Immobile since 25 January 2014, 42 days after landing.
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerSASEI and BISSE
Landing mass140 kg (310 lb)[2]
Dimensions1.5 m (4.9 ft)
Power• Solar panels for electricity
• Radioisotope heater units for heating
Start of mission
Launch date1 December 2013, 17:30 (2013-12-01UTC17:30Z) UTC[3]
RocketLong March 3B Y-23
Launch siteXichang LC-2
Deployed fromChang'e 3
End of mission
Declared3 August 2016
Last contactMid-2016
Lunar rover
Landing date14 December 2013, 13:12 UTC[4]
Landing siteMare Imbrium
44°07′N 19°31′W / 44.12°N 19.51°W / 44.12; -19.51[5]
Distance driven114.8 m (377 ft)[6]
Yutu-2 →

Yutu (Chinese: 玉兔; pinyin: Yùtù; lit. 'Jade Rabbit') was a robotic lunar rover that formed part of the Chinese Chang'e 3 mission to the Moon. It was launched at 17:30 UTC on 1 December 2013, and reached the Moon's surface on 14 December 2013.[7] The mission marks the first soft landing on the Moon since 1976 and the first rover to operate there since the Soviet Lunokhod 2 ceased operations on 11 May 1973.[8]

The rover encountered operational difficulties toward the end of the second lunar day[9] after surviving and recovering successfully from the first 14-day lunar night.[10] It was unable to move after the end of the second lunar night, though it continued to gather useful information for some months afterward.[11] In October 2015, Yutu set the record for the longest operational period for a rover on the Moon.[12] On 31 July 2016, Yutu ceased to operate after a total of 31 months, well beyond its original expected lifespan of three months.

In total, while working on the Moon, the rover was able to travel a distance of 114 meters.[13]

In 2018 the follow-on to the Yutu rover, the Yutu-2 rover, launched as part of the Chang'e 4 mission.

  1. ^ Laxman, Srinivas (7 March 2012). "Chang'e-3: China To Launch First Moon Rover In 2013". Asian Scientist.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Science tools was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Zhang (13 March 2012). "China Starts Manufacturing Third Lunar Probe". CRI. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013.
  4. ^ Knapp, Alex (30 November 2013). "China Will Kick Off December By Launching A Probe To The Moon". Forbes. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Chang'e-3 soft-lands on moon". xinhuanet. 14 December 2013. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013.
  6. ^ "China's Chang'e 4 probe switches back to dormant mode". China Daily. 13 February 2019.
  7. ^ "China lands Jade Rabbit robot rover on Moon". BBC. 14 December 2013.
  8. ^ Molnár, László (24 May 2013). "Chang'e-3 revealed – and its massive!". Pull Space Technologies. Archived from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  9. ^ "China's first moon rover has experienced a "mechanical control abnormality". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 26 January 2014.
  10. ^ Boyle, Alan (12 January 2014). "Chinese moon lander and rover wake up after weeks of sleep". NBC News. Archived from the original on 14 January 2014.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Not dead yet was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Jeff Foust (30 October 2015). "China's Immobile Rover Passes a Purely Figurative Milestone". SpaceNews.
  13. ^ China Focus: China's upgraded lunar rover drives on moon's far side