It was last November.
The Chinese lunar rover Yutu-2 then spotted a strange cube on the far side of the Moon.
The robot had therefore taken the direction of the object so that teams on Earth could identify it.
In the end, the discovery turned out to be less than exciting.
The object of all the assumptions was in reality a simple pebble, reports the American media Business Insider.
The Chinese rover Yutu 2 traveled a total of 1,003.9 meters on the far side of the Moon, exceeding the kilometer threshold!
The mysterious cubic rock observed on the horizon turns out to be ... a rock!
Note that this remains a major scientific target.
📸CNSA pic.twitter.com/elqTTYGoQD
- Kaynouky (@Kaynouky) January 7, 2022
It took Yutu-2 several weeks of travel to be able to take a workable photo of the pebble.
It is the Chinese media
Our Space
, affiliated with the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA), which makes the revelation.
Conclusion: the illusion of cubic shape is explained by the perspective and the light at the time of the shooting by the robot.
A pebble in the shape of a rabbit
The discovery would therefore not reveal the secrets of the hidden face of the Moon ... The scientists of the Chinese space program had nicknamed the famous cube: "mysterious hut".
To keep a little mystery and fantasy, some see the stone in the shape of a rabbit.
An unusual finding because the name of the rover, Yutu, means "jade rabbit", note our colleagues.
By heading towards the rock, the robot has crossed the 1,000 meters traveled since its arrival on the far side of the Moon, on January 2, 2019. If it was designed to work only three months, it has lived well for more than three year.
He could well continue to survey our satellite as part of the Chang'e-4 mission.
Science
Space: A mysterious cube spotted on the surface of the Moon by a Chinese rover
Planet
Space: That's it, the James Webb telescope is fully deployed!
China
Moon
Earth
Space
Science
0 comment
0 share
Share on Messenger
Share on Facebook
Share on twitter
Share on Flipboard
Share on Pinterest
Share on Linkedin
Send by Mail
To safeguard
A fault ?
To print