Lunar rover still has a pulse after 5 months

China's troubled lunar rover Yutu is still alive and functional after more than five months on the moon, a lunar program official said on Wednesday.

Its functionality has been weakened considerably by the bitterly cold lunar nights after the rover experienced a "mechanical control abnormality" in January, said Li Benzheng, deputy commander-in-chief of the country's lunar program.

The rover can still send data back to Earth via lunar probe Chang'e-3 which carried Yutu to the moon, he said, but its wheels are no longer functioning nor are the solar panel designed for thermal insulation during lunar nights.