Facts about Chang'e-3
- 08
During its operational period, Chang'e-3's lander transmitted data through a 7-meter communication antenna, enabling real-time control of the Yutu rover from ground stations in China.
- 07
Approximately 3.7 million images were captured by Chang'e-3's optical instruments during the mission, providing unprecedented high-resolution documentation of the lunar surface.
- 06
Yutu's instruments included a spectrometer that analyzed lunar soil composition and discovered evidence of olivine and pyroxene minerals in Mare Imbrium during Chang'e-3's mission.
- 05
Chang'e-3's lander weighed 1,280 kilograms and used a variable-thrust engine to achieve the first controlled lunar descent by any nation since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976.
- 04
Yutu's ground-penetrating radar detected a subsurface layer approximately 40 meters beneath Mare Imbrium during Chang'e-3's exploration, revealing the Moon's internal geological structure.
- 03
Chang'e-3's lander carried a ultraviolet telescope that observed Earth's magnetosphere and plasma sheet interactions during its two-year operational period.
- 02
The Yutu rover operated for 31 months on the lunar surface before losing mobility in 2016, far exceeding its planned three-month mission duration for Chang'e-3.
- 01
On December 14, 2013, the Yutu rover landed on the Moon's Mare Imbrium as part of China's Chang'e-3 mission, marking humanity's first soft landing in 37 years.