From pet rabbit to lunar detective

The Chang'e-3 lunar probe comprises a lander and a moon rover. The rover was named Yutu, "Jade Rabbit", via an online poll. In ancient folklore, Chang'e was a moon goddess who swallowed immortality pills and then flew from the earth to the moon. Yutu was a pet rabbit that kept the goddess company in her cold, lonely lunar palace.

The rover will explore the moon's geological structure and surface resources, creating a space engineering system for lunar patrols. It will send back 3-D images, measure infrared spectrums and analyze the lunar soil.

The difficulties facing Chang'e-3 include performing the first-ever lunar soft landing by a Chinese craft and carring out scientific research under extreme conditions, experts said.