China successfully landed a lander and rover on the far side of the moon during the Chang’e-4 mission. The rover deployed from the lander on December 3, 2018. This marks the first time a lander and rover have successfully landed on the far side of the Moon.
The Chang’e-4 spacecraft made its descent from lunar orbit to a pre-selected landing area with the Von Kármán crater at 02:26 universal time Thursday (10:26 Beijing time). Chang’e-4 landing site is 177.6 degrees east longitude and 45.5 degrees south following a 12-minute powered descent.
Chang’e 4 Lander and Rover on the Moon (Image: CNSA)
Subsequently, the lander returned the first ever images from the lunar far side surface. Images from its descent and others cameras sent to Earth via the Queqiao relay satellite.
Roughly twelve hours later, the China Lunar Exploration Project (CLEP) announced Yutu 2 rover had descended from atop the lander at 14:22 UTC.
