Just 10 weeks after blasting into space and about two months after landing on the moon, China’s ‘Jade Rabbit’ lunar rover has been declared dead.
The robotic rover marked China’s third moon mission, but it was the first to touch down on the lunar surface. Indeed, Jade Rabbit’s arrival was the first soft touchdown on the moon since an unmanned Russian mission in 1976.
According to state-owned China News Service today, the rover “could not be restored to full function on Monday as expected.” It broke down on January 25 with mechanical problems and had not moved since then. The mission was meant to last three months.
(GIF is a screengrab from Comedy Central’s Daily Show. Yes, that’s Patrick Stewart)
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