China’s lunar lander has just woken up from a two-week-long hibernation on the far side of the moon, and recorded temperatures as low as 190° C (-310° F) during its first lunar night, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA). This was lower than those experienced by previous US missions to the near side of the moon, said Zhang He, executive director of the Chang’e-4 mission, to Xinhua news agency.
A rover, called Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit) after the moon goddess’s pet, released from the probe, also resumed operations ‘as planned’ on January 29 and will perform experiments in the Von Karman Crater, according to the CNSA. Chang’e-4 comes equipped with instruments developed by scientists from Sweden, Germany and China.
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That’s probably due to the difference in lunar soil composition between the two sides of the moon,” said Zhang He.
