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China’s moon rover in jeopardy after ‘mechanical abnormality’

China's 'Jade Rabbit' moon rover suffered a mechanical problem over the weekend, just as it was preparing for the two-week-long lunar night, and this setback could put the rover's mission in danger.

Jade Rabbit, or Yutu, puts wheels on the lunar surface on December 15th, 2013, and has already gone through one lunar night — a period of darkness that lasts for nearly 15 days, as the moon slowly rotates on its axis. When the rover 'goes to sleep' during these times, it is designed to fold down its camera mast into its body, flip over one of its solar panels to cover the top of its body, and then angle its other solar panel towards where the sun will peak over the horizon at lunar dawn. According to Emily Lakdawalla of The Planetary Society, this keeps the interior and cameras protected, and warmed by radioisotope heaters, as temperatures plunge down to around -180°C. Unfortunately, as it was preparing to settle down for this latest lunar night, the rover suffered a "mechanical control abnormality," according to CCTV.

Although scientists are apparently working out possible repairs, it's not looking good for the rover. Yutu's unofficial account on Sina Weibo — China's largest microblogger site — reported (translated by CCTV):

"It's been a pleasure for me to come to the moon and share my experiences with everyone. Very soon the temperature on the moon will drop below minus 180 degrees Celsius. I’m not sure if things can be fixed in time. So I’d like to wish all of you a happy Spring Festival in advance!"

According to CCTV, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) said the problem was due to the "complicated lunar surface environment." However, they gave no further details.

Although this may be it for Yutu, the rover has no doubt returned some great science to the Chinese already, and it and the Chang'e 3 lander have provided us with some awesome new views of the lunar surface — like this full-colour 'time lapse' panorama:

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So, things aren't looking good for Yutu, and while the mission scientists work out a possible fix, we will likely need to wait until sunlight once again shines on the rover's solar panel to know if it's truly done. Chang'e 3, the lander that delivered the rover to the lunar surface, was apparently able to 'go to sleep' safely on Friday, so at the very least it should be fine to continue its part of the mission.

(Photos courtesy: Wikipedia/CNSA/CCTV)

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