UPDATE2:
Return of the Jade Rabbit: China’s moon rover back in action
BEIJING — China’s Jade Rabbit lunar rover, feared to have suffered some irreparable technical difficulties, may yet have some spring in its step.
UPDATE: It may have a heartbeat. A website devoted to the amateur monitoring of radio signals from deep space, uhf-satcom.com, reports that a downlink signal from the Yutu rover has been detected. Whether it’s a zombie or not is still unknown.
From wire reports:
China’s lunar rover, Yutu, was has failed to reawaken after 14 days of hibernation.
Yutu, China’s first lunar rover, is dead.
Mission controllers in Beijing were unable to communicate with and restore the rover, also called Jade Rabbit, according to a Chinadaily report released February 12. A problem with the rover was first announced on January 25.
China’s first lunar rover, Yutu, could not be restored to full function on Monday as expected, and netizens mourned it on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like service. [Special coverage]
Yutu experienced mechanical problems on Jan 25 and has been unable to function since then.
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One wonders if the cause will ultimately be traced to something many people experience daily on a worldwide basis: poorly manufactured Chinese components often fail quickly.
Of course, there are many instances of other countries moon and mars landers/rovers failing on deployment, so they are not alone. It is still an accomplishment to just get there.
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So it wasn’t faked after all?
did it see the flag we planted there? /sarc…
Major loss of face. That and they stole the wrong blueprint.
Maybe cheaply made components, but if so they can probably afford to send 27 of these on missions compared to one of ours :).
Did it bring along enough coal?
That’s a shame. So much hard work to get it there.
Made in china..
that’s the problem with Chinese, you have one rover and you 30 mins later you want another one
Well, back to stealing more western tech. Obviously, they got the AGW model program that doesn’t work.
Ironically, they purchased Jade Rabbit at Walmart.
I’ve worked a bit with Chinese engineers, and they’re smart and capable. Let’s not forget that they managed a soft landing on the moon, no trivial stunt, and deployed a rover which did function long enough to send back pictures. Not bad for a first attempt. I wish them well with their next.
I think praising them for what they have accomplished and encouraging them further is the only correct response.
timothy is of course correct
Remind me, what was the quality of original hubble images? Oh, and about those shuttles of yours…
Terrible! Remind me. Not to buy a Chinese built iphone………………
Better luck next time guys. Great first effort.
Yutu has been on Moon’s surface since 14 December 2013. Perhaps the 24th solar maximum toasted it’s circuits, but it’s politically incorrect to admit.
Nothing made in China these days lasts long. I wonder how long our new Bay Bridge will last? Already been repaired. A bit like my new jacket I bought a few years ago, made in China, that ripped the sleeve lining after the first wash. Or my flight bag made in China that ripped out a [seam] the first month. Interestingly, WalMart is purchasing $250 billion in domestic products over 10 years to support US manufacturing to boost jobs. I always figured Walmart was the canary in the coal mine for our economy. When products become too expensive there (which I expected), it would be because 1) people weren’t working, and 2) China was raising prices and / or the dollar was falling through the floor.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/walmart-announces-10-million-fund-to-spur-innovation-and-support-us-manufacturing-2014-01-23
Na, it was the hacking tools built into every Chinese made processor. This is a precursor to the ‘nightmare scenario’ that stays at the back of the minds of every Admiral in the fleet – thousands of avionics, missile guidance, acquisition radar – all built with Chinese made processors … one single command — fill in the blanks.
Alas, I see the word was ‘seam’ and not what it seems to be instead.
The main problem of Chinese manufacturing is lip service to manufacturing standards. They don’t maintain their processes with rigid calibration standards for the manufacturing equipment. Case in point, I’ve used nickel plated N connectors, for coaxial cables, for years both in my work and play, without any problems when a US manufacturer was used. However, in Afghanistan, I was fielding a system installed on MRAP’s that utilized said connectors, but made in China. Right from the beginning I observed flaking of the nickel plating from the connector, causing a 3 month delay due to these inferior parts. I could relate other items as well………
Anthony, I think this should not be done.
mechanic things fail all the time, regardless where it is made. American made space apparatus have failed too.
As a matter of fact, a google on ‘made in china superior’ gives some interesting results
https://www.google.com/?gfe_rd=ctrl&ei=jev7UpHHKNOG5Abt0YGwDA&gws_rd=cr#q=made+in+china+superior
I don’t think that polarisation was unnecesary and uncalled for and it wont help maintianing an objective image..
Disclaimer: I’m not Chinese, just trying to be objective.
poorly manufactured Chinese components often fail quickly.
Going to the Moon is hard.
Roving on the Moon harder still.
Successful landing on China’s first attempt.
Made it through one Lunar night (-180 deg C) . Couldn’t survive the second.
They’ll learn and be back.
Not dead yet?
“After being pronounced dead by the news media China’s Yutu rover has phoned home from the Moon.”
http://www.moonviews.com/2014/02/yutu-rover-has-phoned-home-from-the-moon.html
Radio waves can’t penetrate smog?