China to launch first moon rover

Jade Rabbit named after myth about a white bunny on the moon

China will launch its first ever moon rover early next month, state media said yesterday, with the vehicle named “Jade Rabbit” in a nod to Chinese folklore.

The name derives from an ancient Chinese myth about a white rabbit which lives on the moon as the pet of Chang’e, a lunar deity who swallowed an immortality pill.

The rocket, carrying the probe, will be launched early next month, China’s official Xinhua news agency said, cit- ing the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence.

It did not give a specific date. China has previously sent two probes to orbit the moon, with controllers sending the first of them crashing into the lunar surface at the end of its mission.

“China has named its first moon rover ‘ Yutu’, or jade rabbit, following an online poll,” Xinhua added.

‘ Man in the moon’

The rabbit’s outline is said to be visible on the moon’s surface, similar to the Western concept of the “man in the moon”.

Beijing sees its military- run space programme as a marker of its rising global stature and growing technological might, as well as the ruling Communist Party’s success in turning around the fortunes of the once poverty- stricken nation.

It has ambitious plans to create a permanent space station by 2020 and eventually send a human to the moon, but its technology currently lags behind the expertise of the United States and Russia.

China showed off a model of the gold- coloured moon rover, with six wheels and winglike solar panels earlier this month.

The vehicle can climb inclines of up to 30 degrees and travel up to 200 metres per hour, its designers said.

P r i n t e d

a n d

d i s t r i b u t e d

b y

N e w s p a p e r D i r e c t