Post by lowell on Dec 6, 2021 23:09:00 GMT -6
"China's Yutu 2 rover spots a 'mystery hut' on the far side of the moon "
Sam Tonkin For Mailonline 15 hrs ago
"China's lunar rover has spotted a mysterious object on the far side of the moon, and is now on its way to investigate it further.
A website affiliated with the country's space agency referred to the cube-shaped item as a 'mystery hut', although experts believe it is likely a large boulder that has been excavated by a meteorite.
The Yutu 2 rover, which almost three years ago arrived with the first spacecraft to ever land on the dark side of the moon, took pictures of the object on the horizon while working its way across the Von Kármán crater.
A website affiliated with the country's space agency referred to the cube-shaped item as a 'mystery hut', although experts believe it is likely a large boulder that has been excavated by a meteorite.
The Yutu 2 rover, which almost three years ago arrived with the first spacecraft to ever land on the dark side of the moon, took pictures of the object on the horizon while working its way across the Von Kármán crater.
This side of our lunar satellite is never visible from Earth and, prior to the Chang'e-4 mission, no space probe had ever reached that part of the surface because of communication difficulties.
UPCOMING CHANG'E MISSIONS
Chang'e-6 will be the first mission to explore the Moon's south pole. It's expected to launch in 2023 or 2024.
Chang'e-7 will study the land surface, composition, space environment in an overall mission, according to the Chinese space authority, while Chang'e-8 will focus on technical surface analysis.
China is also reportedly working on building a lunar base using 3D printing technology and sending a future crewed mission to the surface.
Chang'e-8 will likely lay the groundwork for this as it strives to verify technology for the project.
The solar-powered Yutu 2 has been traversing the 115-mile-wide (186km) Von Kármán crater ever since it landed on the moon attached to the Chang'e-4 spacecraft on January 3, 2019.
Last month it snapped pictures of a mysterious object 260 ft (80m) away to the north, just on the horizon, according to Our Space, a Chinese language science outreach channel affiliated with the China National
Last month it snapped pictures of a mysterious object 260 ft (80m) away to the north, just on the horizon, according to Our Space, a Chinese language science outreach channel affiliated with the China National
A website affiliated with the country's space agency referred to the cube-shaped item as a 'mystery hut', although experts believe it is likely a large boulder that has been excavated by a meteorite.
The Yutu 2 rover, which almost three years ago arrived with the first spacecraft to ever land on the dark side of the moon, took pictures of the object on the horizon while working its way across the Von Kármán crater.
China is also reportedly working on building a lunar base using 3D printing technology and sending a future crewed mission to the surface.
The solar-powered Yutu 2 has been traversing the 115-mile-wide (186km) Von Kármán crater ever since it landed on the moon attached to the Chang'e-4 spacecraft on January 3, 2019.
Last month it snapped pictures of a mysterious object 260 ft (80m) away to the north, just on the horizon, according to Our Space, a Chinese language science outreach channel affiliated with the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
It referred to the object as a 'mystery hut' (神秘小屋/shenmi xiaowu), although this is a placeholder name rather than an accurate description of what it is thought to be.
Nevertheless, Chinese scientists are intrigued about the object and Yutu 2 is now set to spend the next 2-3 lunar days – the equivalent of 2-3 Earth months – travelling over to it to get a closer look.
Chang'e 4 was China's fourth mission to the moon and the second to send a rover.
The Chang'e 1 and 2 missions were orbiters, while Chang'e 3 landed on the near side of the moon with the first Yutu rover."