SPACE: Chinese Moon Rover Checks Out the Far Side
China’s far-side moon mission has turned its history-making gaze underground. The Chang’e 4 spacecraft touched down on the floor of the 115-mile-wide (186 kilometers) Von Kármán Crater on Jan. 2, 2019, becoming the first probe ever to ace a soft landing on the moon’s mysterious far side, which forever points away from Earth. A rover called Yutu 2 (“Jade Rabbit 2”) rolled off the stationary Chang’e 4 lander just hours after touchdown. These two solar-powered craft have now been taking the measure of their exotic surroundings for more than a year with a variety of science gear, giving us unprecedented … Read more