China moon rover ‘Jade Rabbit’ wakes from ‘nap’

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BEIJING: China’s lunar rover got back to work on the far side of the moon Thursday after waking from a five-day hibernation, its official social media page announced.

“Afternoon nap is over, waking up and getting moving,” the Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit-2) posted on the Twitter-like Weibo.

The rover on Saturday went into standby mode to protect itself from temperatures reaching towards 200 degrees Celsius (390 degrees Fahrenheit), the China Lunar Exploration Program under the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.

The 140-kilogram (308-pound) rover has since resumed activities, which will include taking a picture of the front side of the lander and exploration missions.

The Chang’e-4 mission — named after a moon goddess — made the world’s first soft landing on the moon’s far side on January 3.