China’s moon mission robots wake up for a 23rd lunar day as team snags major award


China’s Chang’e 4 spacecraft have awoken for another lunar day on the far side of the moon, while on Earth the mission received a prestigious international award for its accomplishments.

The Chang’e 4 mission, which consists of a lander and a rover, made the first-ever touchdown on the far side of the moon on Jan. 3, 2019. Since then, the two robots have lasted 648 days, returning reams of science data and images from Von Kármán Crater during the local day; the rover and lander hibernate during the roughly 14-Earth-day-long lunar nights.



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