Emily LakdawallaJan 28, 2014

I'm on All Things Considered today, talking about poor Yutu

As a lifetime listener of National Public Radio, it's beyond strange to hear my voice on All Things Considered! I wish it were for a happier reason, but I was invited on by Geoff Brumfiel to talk about the fate of poor Yutu.

Listen to Emily discuss Yutu on All Things Considered

 

I don't have any new information about Yutu beyond what I wrote on Saturday. There has been some confusion in the media about the blog entry, written by a Chinese space fan, that has Yutu speaking in the first person about its impending demise. More than one news outlet has reported it as being a release from Xinhua state media (here's one in Chinese from China, one in English from China, and one from CNN), but if I understand it correctly, they're reporting it wrong; the first-person report wasn't from state media, it was just one fan's writing. But to say it's "just" a fan is to diminish the great positive impact that fan has had on Chang'e 3 mission outreach. The responses of other Chinese fans, quoted in those articles, are emotional and real.

Yutu's dream
Yutu's dream Image: © POCKN

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