China’s Chang’e-4 probe resumes activities on the far side of the moon for 22nd lunar day

China’s Chang’e-4 probe including the lander and the rover have resumed their activities for the 22nd lunar day on the far side of the moon.Chinese news agency Global Times reported that while the probe’s lander woke up at 5.15 am Beijing time on Saturday, 12 September while the rover Yutu-2 or Jade Rabbit-2, woke up a day before on Friday at 11.54 am.The report added that the news was confirmed by the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration.[caption id="attachment_5890291" align="alignnone" width="1024"]

China's Jade Rabbit-2 rover making its first wheel tracks on the far side of the moon on 3 January, 2019, after rolling down from the Chang'e 4 lander. Image courtesy: CNSA[/caption]The Chang’e-4 probe goes into a dormant state due to the lack of solar energy and wakes up in time to resume its work after stipulated periods of time. “A lunar day is equal to 14 days on Earth, and a lunar night is the same length,” the report added.According to a report by China Daily, the centre has revealed that Yutu-2 will be moving northwest during the 22nd lunar day. Its goal will be going towards a “basalt area” that are some “impact craters with high reflectivity”. Scientific detection is going to be carried out thereafter by using the various instruments that the rover is carrying. These include a panoramic camera, infrared imaging spectrometer, neutral atom detector, and a lunar radar.The spacecraft had made a successful soft landing on the far side of the moon on 3 January 2019 after being launched on 8 December 2018. According to a report by Xinhua News, it was the first soft landing on the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin. About two weeks ago, the craft crossed the 600-day milestone. After travelling 519.29 meters, the spacecraft had completed 600 days on the moon. Also, the rover Yutu 2 became the “longest-working lunar rover on the moon” after successfully transgressing its three-month design lifespan.When the lander and the rover had woken up for the 19th lunar working day in June earlier this year, the space agency of the country was planning to study a new crater on the lunar soil.