‘Jade Rabbit’ is on the Moon

At 1.11pm UTC today (8.11 am EST) the Chang’e-3 mission made a successful soft landing in an area toward the edge of the Sinus Iridum and Mare Imbrium – shown in this image by the red flag.

By Caleb A. Scharf on December 14, 2013
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At 1.11pm UTC today (8.11 am EST) the Chang'e-3 mission made a successful soft landing in an area toward the edge of the Sinus Iridum and Mare Imbrium - shown in this image by the red flag.

Landing site of Chang'e 3 on the Moon (Credit: www.new.cn).

That's on the nearside of the moon - marked in a red ellipse in the figure below.

Sinus Iridum

Next up will be the attempted deployment of Yutu (Jade Rabbit), a six-wheeled lunar rover - sending back real time video as it's driven across the lunar surface.

You can read more details here and here.

And what does it look like at the landing site? It looks like this, an early image from the lander.

View of Chang'e-3 landing site from it's monitoring camera (China National Space Administration/Associated Press)

The views expressed are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)

Caleb A. Scharf

Dr. Caleb A. Scharf is Director of Astrobiology at Columbia University,and has an international reputation as a research astrophysicist, and as a lecturer to college and public audiences. The UK's Guardian newspaper has listed his blog Life, Unbounded, as one of their "hottest science blogs," while an editor at Seed Magazine called it "phenomenal.Informed, fresh, and thoughtful." Scharf is author and co-author of more than 100 scientific research articles in astronomy and astrophysics. His work has been featured in publications such as New Scientist, Scientific American, Science News, Cosmos Magazine, Physics Today, and National Geographic, as well as online at sites like Space.com and Physorg.com. His textbook for undergraduate and graduate students, Extrasolar Planets and Astrobiology, won the 2012 Chambliss Prize of the AAS. His articles and reviews have appeared in such prestigious publications as Science, Nature, The Astrophysical Journal, and Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Dr. Scharf is a regular keynote speaker at academic meetings, such as for the American Physical Society, museums, and both public and private venues, including the American Museum of Natural History and the Rubin Museum of Art in New York. He has been a guest on "Krulwich on Science" at NPR, William Shatner's "Weird or What?" and has served as a consultant to editors and producers at National Geographic Magazine, The Science Channel, The Discovery Channel, and The New York Times.

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