Sky high

The designer of China's moon rover looks back on a project that, while full of challenges, was able to nurture his wildest dreams. Yu Fei and Yu Xiaojie from China Features talk to the proud scientist.

Jia Yang, 44, has two children. One goes to a middle school in Beijing; the other is on the moon. The trials of parenthood have been far more arduous with the second child for Jia, deputy chief designer of the Chang'e-3 lunar probe, who led a team to develop China's first moon rover, Yutu, or Jade Rabbit. Chang'e-3 launched on Dec 2, 2013, landing on the moon after a two-week voyage, becoming China's first soft-landing on an extraterrestrial body. On Dec 15, Yutu rolled out onto the lunar surface. The rover and the lander took pictures of each other for the family album.

After dedicating 10 years to the project, Jia described his feelings as "bittersweet" - a feeling that lingers even after China declared the mission a "complete success".