“Jade Rabbit” China’s Moon Rover in Trouble and Needing Repairs

Also known as “Yutu” the Chinese Moon rover “Jade Rabbit” was launched in December with high hopes for the fledgling space program in China. However, China’s moon rover has reportedly run into some trouble since it started exploring the lunar surface.

The Jade Rabbit is the first spacecraft to make what it referred to as a “soft” landing, descending under power, on the moon since the last Apollo mission in 1976.



Early results after the successful lunar landing by China’s Jade Rabbit were excellent. The Beijing Aerospace Control Centre had reported that the lunar rover had successfully explored the surface of the Moon with its mechanical arm.

Powered by solar energy, Jade Rabbit was scheduled to power down for a 14-day period, referred to as the lunar night when the part of the moon where Yutu is located would receive no sunlight.

However, on Saturday, prior to the scheduled nap, the rover suffered a malfunction, believed to be caused by the challenging lunar surface.

Now, Space scientists in China are working to try to repair the damaged Jade Rabbit so the Moon rover can get back to work examining the lunar soil on its projected 3-month mission.