LIVE: Chang'e-3 lunar probe and rover Lunar Landing December 14, 2013

[savuporo]

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1486425/last-ditch-efforts-salvage-mission-chinas-stricken-jade-rabbit-lunar

What the headline says. Power circuitry is not usually designed to be very reconfigurable or reprogrammable, so slim chances.

[plutogno]

A new paper in Chinese: Chang’E-3 Lunar Rover’s Scientific Payloads is now published

[Blackstar]

A new paper in Chinese: Chang’E-3 Lunar Rover’s Scientific Payloads is now published

Here it is attached.

[Lar]

A new paper in Chinese: Chang’E-3 Lunar Rover’s Scientific Payloads is now published

Here it is attached.

Thanks Blackstar!

Although the paper body is in Chinese, the abstract is in English as are the diagrams so some interesting info can be gleaned by non Chinese speakers...

[Blackstar]

I just heard some information third-hand. Not sure if it has been reported here. I'll just say that I got it from somebody who recently talked to a senior Chinese space official who said that they now think that the rover mobility problem may have been caused by a rock that may have severed a key electronic cable.

Anybody else seen anything like that in the Chinese accounts of the mission?

[simonbp]

I have no inside knowledge, but it does sound like a very plausible theory. The MERs had a lot of external cabling, and given the similarities of the designs, it would not be surprising if Yutu did as well.

Plus, the Moon's low gravity means that Yutu must have thrown up much more rocks than the MERs would have on Mars.

[plutogno]

UHF Satcom https://twitter.com/uhf_satcom is reporting detection of Yutu again! (carrier only for the moment)

[AJA]

Plus, the Moon's low gravity means that Yutu must have thrown up much more rocks than the MERs would have on Mars.

But Yutu's also smaller isn't it? I'm not saying it's not a plausible theory, but I don't think it would've been because of a rock thrown up by the wheels. These rovers are not exactly ripping along the terrain... so any rock (or gravel) small enough to get kicked up, won't have the energy to shear through a cable. Something large enough wouldn't get lifted up in the first place.

Maybe they drove over some protrusion, snagged a cable, and yanked it out of a socket? (Seems more likely to me than a cable getting "cut").

[Blackstar]

small enough to get kicked up, won't have the energy to shear through a cable. Something large enough wouldn't get lifted up in the first place.

The way it was described to me was that it may have somehow gotten into the rover and between moving parts where it acted like a knife, cutting through a cable. So maybe a pretty small piece.

[plutogno]

a rare update from Xinhua http://www.icrosschina.com/news/2014/0528/363.shtml

[Dalhousie]

The China Space FB group has today posted a very nice picture of the large triangular rock that Yutu was driving towards.  I have not seen this elsewhere.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t1.0-9/10423795_737090639685273_8172128033035313925_n.jpg

[plutogno]

it has been discussed at some length in unmannedspaceflight this week http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=7758&view=findpost&p=210226

[Lsquirrel]

The China Space FB group has today posted a very nice picture of the large triangular rock that Yutu was driving towards.  I have not seen this elsewhere.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t1.0-9/10423795_737090639685273_8172128033035313925_n.jpg

the nature paper：

[Blackstar]

Chang'e-5 capsule.

[plutogno]

the CE-5 demo mission has been discussed here: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=34162.0

[savuporo]

By the way, @uhf_satcom posts updates now and then about still being able to receive Yutu signal now and then.
The rover is talking, would be interesting to be able to decode what is it  saying

https://twitter.com/uhf_satcom/status/477588573404008450

Awesome! Yutu rover is in full chat mode with data on 8462.0605MHz! FFT at http://pjm.uhf-satcom.com/twtr/yutu_130614.jpg … - great to see it downlinking data again!

[Lsquirrel]

a paper have been published in copuos2014:
Chinese Lunar Exploration Program
http://www.oosa.unvienna.org/pdf/pres/copuos2014/tech-06.pdf

something about Chang'e-3：
During the day time of the first 4 months, the Lander got 118.5GB original detecting data.
Extreme ultraviolet camera:Obtained more than 600 images in total.
Lunar-based astronomical telescop:Observe the brightness and variances at near-UV band for various celestial bodies. Up till now, more than 32,000 images have been obtained.

The Patroller (Yutu) got 32GB original detecting data

current status:
The 6th moon night by May 23
The Lander is proper functioning
Patroller(Yutu) encountered control fault, part of the loading works normally
Under the abnormal condition and the extreme low temperature, the
patroller(Yutu)’s performances are gradually degenerated

[plutogno]

two new stories on Yutu courtesy of Xinhua:
http://www.icrosschina.com/insideout/2014/0620/690.shtml
http://www.icrosschina.com/profile/2014/0620/679.shtml

[Steven Pietrobon]

Thanks plutogno. From the second article

"Jia’s next goal is Mars.  “I hope before my retirement, the Chinese people can begin exploring Mars. I hope we can send a rover, better than Yutu, to Mars.”"

[Steven Pietrobon]

Here are some images of the Chang'e 3 7500 N variable thrust engine. Looks like they are using a pintle type motor. From

J.P. Lei, X.H. Lan, R.J. Zhang and W. Chen, "The development of 7500 N variable thrust engine for Chang’E-3," Science China Technological Sciences, vol. 44, pp. 569-575, 24 June 2014.
http://tech.scichina.com:8082/sciE/CN/volumn/volumn_6889.shtml#