Congratulations to the People’s Republic of China for successfully landing China’s Yutu ‘Jade Rabbit’ Moon Rover. China is now among a small group of countries to land and drive a rover on the surface of the moon. Only the United States and the Soviet Union/Russia have successfully landed rovers on the surface of the moon.
According to the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, the 140 kilogram (approximately 309 lbs) rover dug its six wheels into the moon’s surface at 4:35 a.m. (IANA) Chang’e-3 probe soft-landed on the moon 13 days after liftoff in Sinus Iridum, (Bay of Rainbows) an area that is fairly flat from ancient volcanic activity.
China’s Yutu ‘Jade Rabbit’ Moon Rover will begin information gathering which will include a powerful radar device that can scan as deep as 300-feet into the surface. Future missions may target helium-3 as it is a major treasure. China’s Yutu ‘Jade Rabbit’ Moon Rover
China’s Yutu ‘Jade Rabbit’ Moon Rover is a huge accomplishment and, I suspect, a few US politicians will be rather displeased that China has advanced so rapidly. China is talking about moon bases, space stations and more. Keep in mind: the Chinese space initiative is overseen by China’s military. The way I look at it: China may help stoke the flames of our own space ambitions and help the United States reassert itself in this endeavor.
“The dream of the Chinese people across thousands of years of landing on the moon has finally been realized with Chang’e,” said the China News Service, a state-run news agency. “By successfully joining the international deep-space exploration club, we finally have the right to share the resources on the moon with developed countries.”
The Chang’e-3 landing craft carried a solar-powered, robotic rover called the Jade Rabbit, or Yutu in Mandarin Chinese, which was to emerge several hours later to begin exploring Sinus Iridum, or the Bay of Rainbows, a relatively smooth plain formed from solidified lava. According to a Chinese legend, Chang’e is a moon goddess, accompanied by a Jade Rabbit that can brew potions that offer immortality.
“It’s a very ambitious mission in the sense that it’s a rover with a fair amount of instruments on it,” said Andrew Chaikin, a space historian and an expert on lunar travel. The instruments include radar to gather information about what lies as deep as 300 feet below the surface, Chinese space scientists have said.
“There is the potential that some really interesting science could come out of this,” Mr. Chaikin said. – – The New York Times
China’s Yutu ‘Jade Rabbit’ Moon Rover mission represents a starting bell that most of the technically advanced world should heed. Should be an exciting time for space and science. A new space race has begun!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht4_hJBHejA
Check out this video of 2013 Shanghai Auto Show!
