Chang'e 4 lander, rover resume work on moon

The lander and rover of the Chang'e 4 probe have resumed work for their 27th lunar day on the far side of the moon.

The Yutu 2 rover activated at 4:26 am on Saturday and the lander activated just over 12 hours later, the China National Space Administration's Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center said.

Yutu 2 has traveled about 628.5 meters on the far side of the moon. It is now about 430 meters northwest of the landing site.

A lunar day or lunar night is equal to about 14 days on Earth, and the solar-powered probe switches to dormant mode during the lunar night.

During the 27th lunar day, the panoramic camera on the rover will take color pictures of moon rocks and impact craters.

The rover will move southwest toward a rock with a diameter of about 18 centimeters, which is about 17.8 meters away, using its infrared imaging spectrometer to detect the rock.

Xinhua