This was the fifth time the rover and the lander took photos of each since they arrived eight days ago. Scientists in Beijing have been processing them and say scientific tasks can now begin.
"Ten pictures have been taken at five spots so far, and all of them are better than we expected. The rover has moved in a semi-circle around the lander. Afterwards, they will begin to conduct scientific explorations of the geography and geomorphology of the landing spot and nearby areas, and materials like minerals and elements there.
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China's "Jade Rabbit" separates from lander
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BEIJING, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) --
China's first moon rover, Yutu, or Jade
Rabbit, separated from the lander early on Sunday, several hours after
the Chang'e-3 probe soft-landed on the lunar surface.
The six-wheeled rover touched the lunar surface at 4:35 a.m., leaving
deep trace on the loose lunar soil. The process was recorded by the
camera on the lander and the images were sent to the earth.
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XICHANG, Sichuan, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- China launched
the Chang'e-3 lunar probe with the country's first moon rover aboard
early on Monday, marking a significant step toward deep space
exploration.
The probe's carrier, an enhanced Long March-3B rocket, blasted off
from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China at 1:30 a.m.
Chang'e-3 is expected to land on the moon in mid-December to become
China's first spacecraft to soft land on the surface of an
extraterrestrial body.
It is also the first moon lander launched in the 21st century.
A mission to land the first spacecraft on the moon’s surface in over 40 years is set to begin on Monday. China will send its Chang’e-3 probe at around 1:30am local time, from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.
It’s the first time China has attempted a soft landing on any extra-terrestrial surface. Scientific data from the moon’s surface will be sent directly back to earth, and a telescope will be installed on the moon.
