China launches 'Jade Rabbit' rover on its first moon-landing mission
Source: Space.com
China's first-ever mission to land a rover on the moon has begun its journey to the lunar frontier.
Riding atop a modified Long March 3B rocket, China's Chang'e 3 moon lander and its rover Yutu headed toward the moon at 1:30 a.m. Monday local time from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the country's Sichuan province. It was 12:30 p.m. ET Sunday at launch time.
If the probe continues on track, Chang'e 3 will land on the lunar surface by mid-December, becoming the first spacecraft to ease down onto the lunar surface in 37 years. The most recent soft landing on the moon was executed during the former Soviet Union's robotic Luna 24 sample return mission in 1976. [Photos: China's Chang'e 3 Mission Blasts Off]
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In Chinese legend, Yutu, meaning "Jade Rabbit," is the white pet rabbit of the moon goddess Chang'e. The name was selected by the public using Internet websites. Participants around the world cast nearly 3.5 million votes, with Yutu receiving the most votes over a 10-day period. [20 Most Amazing Moon Missions Ever]
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Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/science/china-launches-jade-rabbit-rover-its-first-moon-landing-mission-2D11674372
I really like the names China gives its spacecraft.
= new reply since forum marked as read
An early mention that there is a rabbit on the moon appears in the Chu Ci, a Western Han anthology of Chinese poems from the Warring States period, which notes that along with a toad, there is a rabbit on the moon who constantly pounds herbs for the immortals. This notion is supported by later texts, including the Imperial Readings of the Taiping Era encyclopedia of the Song Dynasty. Han Dynasty poets call the rabbit on the moon the "Jade Rabbit" (玉兔or the "Gold Rabbit" (金兔
It's a SPACE STATION!
You know it's being done in a studio!
