China’s moon rover Jade Rabbit still alive, but unable to move

CHINA’S troubled Jade Rabbit moon rover is still alive after more than five months on the moon, but is heading for an icy death.

Space race ... China’s moon rover Jade Rabbit is still alive, but unable to move and is b

CHINA’S troubled Jade Rabbit moon rover is still alive after more than five months on the moon, but it is heading for an icy death.

The rover, launched in December, can still send data back to Earth, but it is unable to move after its wheels broke down, Xinhua news agency reported, citing Li Benzheng, deputy commander-in-chief of China’s lunar program.

Jade Rabbit is also suffering from chills after solar panels for thermal insulation to protect against freezing lunar nights stopped working, the report said.

“With each lunar night, the functionality of Yutu is yet again weakened,” Mr Li said, using the Chinese name for Jade Rabbit.

The rover turns dormant and stops sending signals during the lunar night — two-week periods when the part of the moon’s surface on which it is sited rotates away from the sun and temperatures turn extremely cold.

Chilly environment ... An image of the moon’s surface transmitted by Jade Rabbit, China’s first lunar rover. Picture: AFP

The Jade Rabbit is named after the pet of a mythical goddess of the moon in Chinese mythology and was deployed on the lunar surface on December 15, but it experienced a “mechanical control abnormality” on January 25.

This led to fears in China it might never revive, but to the country’s relief, it started sending signals again in mid-February.

China sees the space program as a symbol of its rising global stature and technological advancement, as well as of the Communist Party’s success in reversing the fortunes of the once-impoverished nation.