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China National Space Administration has released the earliest images so far Cube formation discovered on the moon It was launched by rover Yutu 2 in December and was dubbed “The Mysterious House” by Our Space outreach program.
Yutu 2 took the first images of the object last month as part of a new expedition to the surface of the far side of the moon. The pictures showed an unusual shape, but the low resolution due to the distance made it difficult to distinguish their true nature.
An object captured by the Yutu-2 rover on the far side of the Moon. Photo: Composition / CNSA
After the photos were published, Internet users of different latitudes – many of them ironically – speculated about this object. They mentioned anything from a “palace on the moon” to a “strange base”. As expected, the experts showed their skepticism about these theories and chose to attribute them natural origin.
Searching for a puzzle on the moon
For this reason, the equipment that runs from Earth to the spacecraft, which is part of Chang’e 4 lunar exploration mission, focused on directing it towards the object, located at that time – early December – at an altitude of 80 meters, next to the impact crater.
Initial calculations determined that the tour would take at least two months. However, scientists have devised a way in which the rover travels faster, explica our space In his recent publications.
Yutu 2 passed through a series of impact craters and rough terrain on the moon’s surface. After 60 meters of travel, night fell and the rover was inactive for several days. Finally, he “wake up” on December 27 and walked in a straight line to the “mysterious cabin” up to 10 meters him to start taking pictures.
Panoramic photo taken by Yutu 2. Photo: CNSA
From a cube body to a single rock
The panorama shows the object just on the edge of the crater. The enlarged image reveals that it is a single rock whose shape is very different from that of a cube or other structure mentioned in general speculation.
However, scientists noted a certain similarity of the rock with a rabbit on its side.
Therefore, they decided to name it after the Yutu rover (“Jade Rabbit”, in Spanish). This name also refers to the famous Chinese legend about one of these rodents who lived on the moon and prepared various elixirs.
The enlarged section of the image reveals the rock, which is ultimately compared to the shape of a rabbit. Photo: CNSA
The researchers plan to get a little closer to determine how this rock ended up there. Previously, it was assumed that this object would be a piece of the moon’s surface that was ejected after the impact of the meteorite that caused the adjacent crater.
Journey to the far side of the moon
Meanwhile, Our Space published details that the rover on Thursday exceeded a kilometer of travel on the lunar surface. Since landing on January 3, 2019 until now, Discover a total of 1,003.9 meters.
Right now, Yutu 2 is hibernating due to the lunar night, which deprives moving space of the sunlight needed to operate it for two weeks.
At the moment, China is the only country with an active rover on our natural satellite. This may soon change, as NASA plans to send sYou are the first spacecraft on the moon As part of its Artemis programme.
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