China's first lunar rover, Yutu, has entered its 33th lunar night of sleeping mode, refreshing the record of the longest stay on the moon's surface again, China's State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) announced recently.
During its 33 lunar days (one lunar day lasts approximately 14 earth days) of working, the lunar rover has collected huge amount of scientific data, which has provided the basis for many new discoveries by Chinese scientists about the planet and over 100 articles published in leading academic magazines like Nature, SASTIND added.
The lunar rover, Yutu was deployed and landed on the moon via China's Chang'e-3 lunar probe in 2013 and, it made China the third country after the Soviet Union and the United States to carry out such a mission.
Although the moon lander has already exceeded its design life by 14 months, the astronomical telescope and other surveying devices it is carrying still work well.
