China made history in 2018 when it landed the Chang’e 4 mission on the lunar surface. The lander has deployed a brave little rover known as the Yutu-2, which still revolves around the far side of the moon, a first for humanity. Late last year, the rover spotted something unusual in the distance: a small square object dubbed the ‘mystery hut’. The rover approached for a closer look, and of course, it’s a rock. He has a better name now, however. Say hello to the jade bunny.
The bizarre object appeared in a photo of Yutu-2 in November 2021. China’s National Space Administration (CNSA) said it would spend the next lunar days getting close to the object for further examination. close. So why are we only hearing about it now? A lunar day is 29.5 Earth days, so the reveal is right in time.
Yutu-2 has now traveled just over a thousand meters (3,280 feet). From its vantage point a few hundred yards in November, the mysterious hut looked like a stocky little building with a flat roof. The dark spot in the middle made it look like some sort of shelter. Of course, finding something that looked the least artificial on the other side of the moon would have been a huge sci-fi affair. It’s like something from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The November image (left) against the new close-up (right)
Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) there is no alien monolith within Yutu-2’s visual range. After approaching the “hut” it turned out to be just another rock that would be priceless on Earth, but only a background. on the moon. The geometric appearance was due to a combination of location, angle, and shadows. However, the rover’s operators noted that the rock looked a bit like a rabbit, and thus Jade Rabbit was born.
It just shows how little we know about the surface of celestial objects. NASA regularly spots strange formations on the surface of Mars, but when a rover approaches it, we invariably find that it is just another strange rock. Who can forget the alleged “face”On Mars, turned out to be a simple turn of light when better imaging technology was used. These rocks may still be of major scientific importance despite their natural origins, but it’s still a bit disappointing. The universe would be a more interesting place if there was a little hut up there. Alas, we’ll have to settle for the very first robotic explorer doing science on the far side of the moon, and that’s not bad.
Now read:
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