China’s lunar rover captured images from the far side of the moon showing an elongated ‘landmark’ rock on the lunar surface.
Yutu 2 saw the sharp structure sticking out of the ground after awakening from a 14-day sleep during the dangerously cold moon night.
Scientists believe that the unusual rock may have formed after numerous impacts blown the rock from the surface until the pointed formation remained.
However, further analysis is needed to determine its exact origin, and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) plans to use the rover’s imaging capabilities to investigate its composition.
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China’s lunar rover captured images from the far side of the moon showing an elongated ‘landmark’ rock on the lunar surface. Yutu 2 saw the sharp structure sticking out of the ground after waking up from a 14-day sleep during the dangerously cold moon night
China’s Chang’e-4 landed on the moon in January 2019 and was the first to ever land on the far side of the moon.
Along the way are the lander and the Yutu 2 rover, which have since broadcast images of the lunar surface that humans have never seen before.
Objectives of the lander and rover include to analyze chemical differences between the Earth-facing side of the Moon and the target area of the mission.
The Chang’e-4 lander and Yutu 2 rover recently wintered for 14 days during the long moon night to protect mechanisms from freezing – temperatures can reach -310 degrees Fahrenheit.
Scientists believe the unusual rock may have formed after numerous impacts blown the rock from the surface until the pointed formation remained
However, further analysis is needed to determine its exact origin, and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) plans to use the rover’s imaging capabilities to investigate its composition.
After being powered back on February 6, the rover continued his work of exploring the other side and then spotted the unusual stalagmite.
CNSA has not yet revealed any measurements of the rock, but plans to analyze it with Yutu 2’s Visible and Near-infrared Imaging Spectrometer (VNIS) instrument in hopes of finding out its composition and size.
Dan Moriarty, NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, told Space.com: -ofless ‘spherical’ shapes, provided enough time. ‘
Moriarty also told Space.com that if we look at the pointed shape of the rock and the pronounced ‘edge’ that runs along the rim, the rock is speculated to be geologically young.
He also believes the milestone was achieved by splintering, which occurs when “intact rock fragments are blown off the nearby surface without experiencing the same impact pressure as the direct target.”
The Chang’e-4 lander and Yutu 2 rover recently wintered for 14 days during the long moon night to protect mechanisms from freezing – temperatures can reach -310 degrees Fahrenheit. After being powered back on February 6, the rover continued his work of exploring the other side and then saw the unusual stalagmite
The rover has traveled 2,060 feet over the lunar surface since landing on January 3, 2019.
The Chinese space agency released a gallery of images captured by the rover in January 2020 to mark the one-year anniversary since the craft first arrived on the moon.
Doug Ellison, who leads the technical camera team for the Curiosity Mars Rover at NASA, processed the images and posted them to Twitter.
An image of the Chang’e-4 lunar lander with the impeccable tracks of the Yutu 2 rover was brought to life in color using advanced computer software.
The images were taken by the Chang’e-4 lander’s terrain camera and the panoramic camera on the Yutu 2 rover.
The data dump measures more than 10 GB and includes images taken over the course of its first year in operation.
The rover has traveled 2,060 feet over the lunar surface since landing on January 3, 2019
The Chinese space agency released a gallery of images captured by the rover in January 2020 to mark the one-year anniversary since the craft first arrived on the moon. Depicted are the tracks of the rover on the lunar surface and the lander in the distance
The images returned in what appears to be black and white, but they are actually incomplete color images.
Computer programs can be used to extract the true coloration.
Some of the images offer a view of the Von Karmer crater in which the mission landed.
It is the largest impact crater in the entire solar system with a depth of 13 km and a diameter of 2500 km.
The other side of the moon – popularly known as the dark side – actually gets as much light as the near side, but it is always pointed away from Earth.
This is because the moon is neatly locked to Earth and is spinning at the same speed that it orbits our planet, so the other side – or the ‘dark side’ – is never visible from our planet.
The Chang’e-4 moon probe mission – named after the moon goddess in Chinese mythology – was launched last December from the southwestern launch center of Xichang.
It is the second Chinese probe to land on the moon, following the Yutu rover mission in 2013.