Chinese lunar rover isn’t dead, but it isn’t going anywhere
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.027780
Nature : In late January, it appeared that China’s lunar rover, Yutu, had failed to properly enter its hibernation period . Although that proved not to be the case, mission officials have revealed that Yutu is no longer roving due to a failure in the drive system. The rover’s ground-penetrating radar and x-ray spectrometer are still operational and collecting data, and the rover is still communicating with Earth. So far, Yutu has detected the presence of magnesium, aluminum, silicon, potassium, and calcium in the lunar soil, and the researchers hope to be able to estimate the thickness of the basalt layer at the landing site. Chinese officials have already discussed another lunar rover mission that might be launched next year.