Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Chang’e-4 far side mission – lander and Yutu-2 rover.
Credit: CNSA/CLEP

China’s Chang’e-4 lunar lander and the Yutu-2 rover have been switched to dormant mode once again on Wednesday for the lunar night after working stably for a 44th lunar day. A lunar day is equal to 14 days on Earth, and a lunar night is of the same length.

Yutu-2 rover as imaged by Chang’e-4 lander earlier in the far side mission.
Credit: CNSA/CLEP

According to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), the lunar rover, switching to dormant mode during the lunar night due to the lack of solar power, has traveled 4,068 feet (239.88 meters) on the far side of the Moon.

Chang’e-4’s far side landing zone.
Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

In forget me not mode, the Chang’e-4 probe, launched on December 8, 2018, made the first-ever soft landing within the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the Moon on January 3, 2019.

At present, the Chang’e-4 lander and the rover Yutu-2 have been working for more than three years on the far side of the Moon, collecting over 3,800 GB science data.