Is Yutu Dying? Chinese Rover Reportedly On Its Last Legs
2014.01.28
Here's some sad news for China's lunar rover. The Yutu rover is apparently suffering from a possible fatal breakdown. And the Chinese state news agency broke this to the people in a very different manner.
CNN reports that China's government-run Xinhua wrote a story explaining the situation in the voice of the beleaguered rover itself. Here's what Yutu, or "Jade Rabbit," had to say about, uh, "his" state of affairs:
"Although I should've gone to bed this morning, my masters discovered something abnormal with my mechanical control system," said the Xinhua report, in the voice of the Jade Rabbit. "My masters are staying up all night working for a solution. I heard their eyes are looking more like my red rabbit eyes."
If the rover doesn't power down during the minus 180 degree Celsius lunar night to preserve power, it could effectively freeze to death. And Yutu wants to keep her impending death from her lover lander, Chang'e. "[Chang'e] doesn't know about my problems yet," said the voice of Yutu in the Xinhua report. "If I can't be fixed, everyone please comfort her."
According to the Xinhua story: "Before departure, I studied the history of mankind's lunar probes. About half of the past 130 explorations ended in success; the rest ended in failure," noted the Jade Rabbit in its report.
"This is space exploration; the danger comes with its beauty. I am but a tiny dot in the vast picture of mankind's adventure in space.
"The sun has fallen, and the temperature is dropping so quickly... to tell you all a secret, I don't feel that sad. I was just in my own adventure story - and like every hero, I encountered a small problem," said the Rabbit.
"Goodnight, Earth," it said. "Goodnight, humanity."
That's pretty damn sad. "This is space exploration; the danger comes with its beauty. I am but a tiny dot in the vast picture of mankind's adventure in space.
"The sun has fallen, and the temperature is dropping so quickly... to tell you all a secret, I don't feel that sad. I was just in my own adventure story - and like every hero, I encountered a small problem," said the Rabbit.
"Goodnight, Earth," it said. "Goodnight, humanity."
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