<p>China's troubled moon rover Yutu or Jade Rabbit has come back to life from a troubled dormancy although experts are still trying to figure out the cause of its abnormality, officials here said today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"Yutu has come back to life," said Pei Zhaoyu, the spokesman for China's Lunar Programme.Pei said the moon rover, named after the pet of a lunar goddess in ancient Chinese mythology, has now been restored to its normal signal reception function.<br /><br />But experts are still working to verify the cause of its mechanical control abnormality, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.<br /><br />Yutu had experienced a mechanical control abnormality due to "complicated lunar surface environment" last month.<br /><br />The problem emerged before Yutu entered its second dormancy on the moon on January 25 as the lunar night fell.<br /><br />"Yutu went to sleep under an abnormal status," Pei said, adding experts were concerned that it might not be able to survive the extremely low temperatures during the lunar night.<br />"The rover stands a chance of being saved now that it is still alive," he said.<br /><br />Reports here last night said Yutu presumed dead after it developed mechanical problems.<br /><br />Many Chinese Internet users said they were moved to hear that their "cute rabbit" had come back to life, and some said the rover was a "foodie" waking up for rice dumplings, a must- have delicacy for the Lantern Festival that falls tomorrow.<br /><br />The lander, another part of the Chang'e-3 probe, also "fell asleep" earlier.<br /><br />The pair went dormant for two weeks about one month ago when the first lunar night of the mission occurred.<br /><br />One night on the Moon is about 14 days on Earth, during which the temperature falls below minus 180 Celsius.<br /><br />During the lunar night, there is no sunlight to provide power to Yutu's solar panel.<br />Jade Rabbit was originally scheduled to carry out geological surveys and astronomical observations for three months after it landed on the moon.<br /><br />The Jade Rabbit was deployed on the moon's surface on December 15, several hours after the Chang'e-3 probe landed.<br /><br />The lunar probe mission, comprising the lander Chang'e-3 and rover Yutu, was launched in December as part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Programme.<br /><br />The mission, which made the first soft-landing on the Moon since 1976, makes China the third country to successfully send a lunar rover to the moon, after the US and the former Soviet Union. </p>
<p>China's troubled moon rover Yutu or Jade Rabbit has come back to life from a troubled dormancy although experts are still trying to figure out the cause of its abnormality, officials here said today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"Yutu has come back to life," said Pei Zhaoyu, the spokesman for China's Lunar Programme.Pei said the moon rover, named after the pet of a lunar goddess in ancient Chinese mythology, has now been restored to its normal signal reception function.<br /><br />But experts are still working to verify the cause of its mechanical control abnormality, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.<br /><br />Yutu had experienced a mechanical control abnormality due to "complicated lunar surface environment" last month.<br /><br />The problem emerged before Yutu entered its second dormancy on the moon on January 25 as the lunar night fell.<br /><br />"Yutu went to sleep under an abnormal status," Pei said, adding experts were concerned that it might not be able to survive the extremely low temperatures during the lunar night.<br />"The rover stands a chance of being saved now that it is still alive," he said.<br /><br />Reports here last night said Yutu presumed dead after it developed mechanical problems.<br /><br />Many Chinese Internet users said they were moved to hear that their "cute rabbit" had come back to life, and some said the rover was a "foodie" waking up for rice dumplings, a must- have delicacy for the Lantern Festival that falls tomorrow.<br /><br />The lander, another part of the Chang'e-3 probe, also "fell asleep" earlier.<br /><br />The pair went dormant for two weeks about one month ago when the first lunar night of the mission occurred.<br /><br />One night on the Moon is about 14 days on Earth, during which the temperature falls below minus 180 Celsius.<br /><br />During the lunar night, there is no sunlight to provide power to Yutu's solar panel.<br />Jade Rabbit was originally scheduled to carry out geological surveys and astronomical observations for three months after it landed on the moon.<br /><br />The Jade Rabbit was deployed on the moon's surface on December 15, several hours after the Chang'e-3 probe landed.<br /><br />The lunar probe mission, comprising the lander Chang'e-3 and rover Yutu, was launched in December as part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Programme.<br /><br />The mission, which made the first soft-landing on the Moon since 1976, makes China the third country to successfully send a lunar rover to the moon, after the US and the former Soviet Union. </p>