Originally posted by Wikinews.
Wikinews content appears under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 license
except where specified. As these articles are static snapshots of news
items that may be later updated, they may not represent the latest or final
revision of that article, and posted information may be only preliminary.

Jade Rabbit lunar rover declared lost
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
February 12, 2014
Original URL: http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Jade_Rabbit_lunar_rover_declared_lost



Chinese state news today declared Jade Rabbit, China's first moon rover,
irreparably damaged.

The Chang'e 3 lander, the first lunar lander for 37 years and of the
third nationality, touched down and launched Jade Rabbit in December.
Jade Rabbit was designed to spend three months seeking out natural
resources but has not functioned since a fault was discovered on January
25.

The probes have to shut down for two weeks each month to survive the
"lunar night", during which surface temperature drops to -180 °C or
less. The first lunar night of the mission was weathered successfully
but Chinese scientists suspected the rover had failed on the 25th when
the second night rolled in. Communication could only be attempted when
the night ended on Monday, but reactivation efforts failed and the rover
is now confirmed derelict.

State-owned ''Xinhua'' news agency blamed the fault on "the complicated
lunar surface environment". Only the US and ex-USSR had previously
landed rovers on the moon, with China and the States fueling renewed
interest in Earth's natural satellite as a possible source of minerals. 

== Sources == 

* http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25038-chinas-jade-rabbit-rover-pronounced-dead-on-the-moon.html#.UvvnL7QoMg8
* http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/china-s-jade-rabbit-lunar-rover-dies-on-moon-1.2533780
* http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/12/jade-rabbit-china-moon-rover-dead-setback

|pub=The Guardian
|date=February 12, 2014
}}



.