Chang'e-4 deploys rover on far side of the Moon

Written by
Jason Davis
January 3, 2019
News brief
Following an historic first landing on the far side of the Moon earlier today, China's Chang'e-4 spacecraft is already hard at work. The lander's first order of business was deploying its rover, which is named Yutu-2, China's space agency announced. The rover rolled down its ramp at 14:22 UTC to begin exploring Von Kármán crater.

Here's one of Yutu-2's six wheels on the Chang'e-4 lander prior to deployment:

And an image of the landing site:

A close-up from the descent camera:

And some very happy technicians:

We're also tracking updates on the landing location. Here's a thread at nasaspaceflight.com, and an update from an LRO scientist:
Looks like Change-4 landed near 45.47084 South, 177.60563 East Quickmap view at: https://t.co/Vqce86qB5Z
— Noah Petro (@nepetro) January 3, 2019
Take a Stand for Our Future in Space
Take action for space exploration! Give today to have your gift matched up to $75,000.
Donate