China’s lunar rover Yutu 2 is on a mission to investigate mystery object on far side of the moon
- Mission team notices ‘mystery hut’ while examining series of images taken by the rover, according to Chinese space media outlet
- Ye Peijian, the chief designer of the country’s first moon probe says a Chinese manned landing on the moon is ‘entirely possible’ by 2030
The mission team of Yutu 2 spotted the object after examining a series of photos taken by the rover, according to Our Space, a science outreach media outlet affiliated with the Chinese space programme.
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The mysterious feature, pictured on the horizon and next to a young, large-impact crater, was about 80 metres (262 feet) from Yutu 2, according to the report published on Friday.
“This thing is really interesting. We should go investigate it,” scientists with the mission team were quoted as saying.
The lunar rover, which has an average speed of less than 1 metre for each Earth day, operates during the lunar day, which lasts for 14 days. It goes into hibernation for the lunar night, also 14 days. It would take several months for it to reach the object, the report said.
Yutu 2, named for a rabbit in Chinese folklore that lived on the moon, was the first rover to explore the far side of the moon.
Ye Peijian, the chief designer of the country’s first moon probe, Chang’e 1, told state broadcaster CCTV on Sunday that a Chinese manned landing on the moon was “entirely possible” by 2030.
“I personally think that as long as the technological research for a manned moon landing continues, and as long as the country is determined, it is entirely possible for China to land people on the moon before 2030,” Ye was quoted as saying.
If successful, such a landing by 2030 would come six decades after United States astronauts first set foot on the lunar surface in 1969.
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After the moon and Mars, the next target in China’s deep-space exploration could be an asteroid mission, according to Ye, whose team was already working on asteroid research.
China’s progress in space capabilities has unsettled the US, with vice chief of the US Air Force Space Command David Thompson telling a defence forum that China could surpass America to become the leader in space at the end of the decade, posing a “tremendous threat”.
