REAL LIFE NEWS: JADE RABBIT MOON ROVER SAYS BYE-BYE
by Hazed
Speaking of moon missions, the Chinese rover Jade Rabbit has just shut down after spending 31 months exploring the moon. This was way beyond its expected mission duration of 3 months.
Jade Rabbit landed on the moon in December 2013 as part of the Chan’e-3 space mission. Its role was to explore the surface looking for natural resources. It was China’s first soft-landing on the moon.
The lander sent its last message home a week ago. "This time it really is goodnight," the rover said. "There are still many questions I would like answers to, but I'm the rabbit that has seen the most stars. The Moon has prepared a long dream for me, I don't know what it will be like - will I be a Mars explorer, or be sent back to Earth?"
Next year, China plans to land an unmanned spaceship on the moon which will return samples to Earth.