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

Jason Davis

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.

Yutu-2 with six wheels on the Moon!
Yutu-2 with six wheels on the Moon! The rover rolled onto the surface at 14:22 on 3 January 2019.Image: CNSA / CLEP

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

Yutu-2’s wheels, pre-deployment
Yutu-2’s wheels, pre-deployment The wheels of Yutu-2 are ready to roll onto the deployment ramp and onto the lunar surface. The rover rolled onto the surface at 14:22 on 3 January 2019.Image: CNSA / CLEP

And an image of the landing site:

Chang’e-4's first image of the landing site
Chang’e-4's first image of the landing site A small color camera intended to monitor rover deployment returned the first photo of Chang'e-4's landing site. At the top of the image are the rover deploy ramps.Image: CNSA / CLEP

A close-up from the descent camera:

Chang’e-4 descent camera image: touchdown!
Chang’e-4 descent camera image: touchdown! This photo was taken upon touchdown of Chang'e-4 on the far side of the Moon on 3 January 2019 at 02:26 UTC. One footpad has sunk slightly into the dusty regolith at right.Image: CNSA / CLEP

And some very happy technicians:

Celebrating Chang’e-4’s landing
Celebrating Chang’e-4’s landing Technicians celebrate after the landing of Chang'e-4 lunar probe at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC) in Beijing, capital of China, 3 January 2019.Image: Xinhua

We're also tracking updates on the landing location. Here's a thread at nasaspaceflight.com, and an update from an LRO scientist:

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