spacetoday.net: China: Yutu rover "alive" but suffering problems

Posted: Thu, Feb 13, 2014, 9:43 AM ET (1443 GMT)
Yutu on surface (Xinhua)

Chinese officials said early Thursday that the the Yutu lunar rover, which many Western outlets had reported to be lost on Wednesday, was functioning but suffering technical problems. A spokesman told official Chinese media that controllers were in communication with the rover, but that it was suffering from unspecified technical problems. Yutu went into hibernation in late January at the beginning of the two-week lunar night "under an abnormal status," according to Chinese officials, with some Western observers speculating the rover was not able to fold up one of its solar panels that would allow it to retain heat. The Chinese account contradicted a number of accounts in Western media on Wednesday that the rover was dead after it failed to respond to commands on Monday. The mission spokesman said that since Yutu was now in contact with controllers, there was some hope of resuming normal operations.