China’s Yutu-2 rover, part of the Chang’e-4 mission, may have reached its final destination and stopped moving due to a lack of energy or mechanical issues. Images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) show that the six-wheeled solar-powered rover has been stationary since March 2024.
The rover was launched in 2018 and drove a total of 1,613 meters before seemingly coming to an abrupt halt. According to Professor Phil Stooke, who tracks rover motion using LRO images, there has been very little motion in the last year, with none detected since March 2024.
Stooke attributes the slowdown to problems with the Queqiao relay satellite, which was low on fuel and being used sparingly to prolong its life. However, replacing the relay satellite early in 2024 did not lead to an increase in the rover’s movement.
China’s Yutu-2 rover is part of the country’s three-step lunar exploration program, designed to orbit, land on, and collect samples from the moon. The mission has achieved several milestones, including discovering materials potentially from the moon’s mantle and providing insights into the composition of impact ejecta in the ancient South Pole-Aitken Basin.
The loss of Yutu-2 could be a setback for China’s lunar exploration plans, but the country is already planning further missions, including Chang’e-7 and Chang’e-8 robotic lunar south pole missions scheduled to launch in 2026 and 2028 respectively.
Source: https://spacenews.com/yutu-2-rover-likely-immobile-on-the-moon-after-historic-lunar-far-side-mission