Posted on 01/10/2022 10:02:34 AM PST by Red Badger
The Yutu-2 image of the ‘mysterious hut’. (CNSA/CLEP/Our Space)
China's mysterious "Moon cube" is a mystery no longer. The big reveal: It's a rock that's not even shaped like a cube.
The nation's Yutu-2 rover discovered the object – which appeared to be a gray cube looming on the lunar horizon – in early December. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) dubbed it 'mysterious hut', playfully speculating that the cube might be an alien house or spacecraft.
News reports called it the 'Moon cube'.
The CNSA estimated the object was about 80 meters (262 feet) away, according to the blog 'Our Space', which is affiliated with the agency, and prepared to drive the rover toward it. The blog said it would take two or three months to reach the cube.
After several weeks of preparations and driving, the rover is close enough to see that the 'mysterious hut' is just a rock. Its sharp-lined geometric appearance on the horizon was a simple trick of perspective, light, and shadow.
In an updated posted on Friday, Our Space published the rover's latest photo of its target, below.
Yutu-2 image of the closer rock. (CNSA/CLEP/Our Space)
One of the rover's ground controllers noted in the blog that the rock is shaped like a rabbit, with smaller rocks in front of it that resemble a carrot. The rover's name, Yutu, means "Jade Rabbit" – which is now the name of the rock, too.
Yutu-2 reached the Moon in January 2019, when the Chang'e-4 lander touched down on the lunar surface and rolled out a ramp for the rover to descend. It was the first mission to land on the far side of the Moon.
In the three years since, Yutu-2 has driven over 1,000 meters (3,200 feet), used ground-penetrating radar to reveal a surprisingly deep layer of lunar soil, and identified rocks from the lunar mantle, below the crust, which were pushed to the surface when an asteroid crashed into the Moon billions of years ago.
A closer look at the rock. (CNSA/CLEP/Our Space)
The rover has survived long past its initial three-month mission, meaning Yutu-2 had plenty free time for a wild cube chase.
I’m gonna need a picture of the rover taking a picture of the “rock” to be sure.
Well they learned a lot from the bad launches in the ‘90s, but they’ve been hittin’ on all 8 since about the last 10 years.
The quality culture there has improved dramatically.
Plus they have far more money now. That’s what happens when you transfer all your own industries to them.
And just like I-708 (guesstimates of around 600 dead), any real disaster will be covered up anyway.
It’s not that bleak. We’ve had probes on Mars and orbiting various planets since the 1970s. China has stretched out as far as the moon, whoopie. I find it hilarious that China is recreating our accomplishments 50 years after we’ve done it and using it as “proof” that they’re kicking our @$$e$. Of course, it only works because our own media hates us. Don’t believe their hype, it’s stupid.
They are far beyond what anyone thought they could do in the early ‘90s and determined to go further. The only thing that might hold them back in spaceflight is focus on military aviation and space, rather then scientific missions.
The physical plant at the Cape is ancient and run down. The only thing going for the US is of course private companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin etc. But the government people can’t help themselves: once they get involved, they throw a wrench in the process and turn it all into a bureaucratic mess.
NASA managed to stay out of its own way in the development of Falcon 9. That was amazing. It worked great. But it’s not clear that they will continue to be that way. And that means that getting back to where we were in ‘71 will be far harder. Artemis is just another program that will get re-baselined, stretched out and delayed inevitably. It’s the government way.
I knew it! Proof that aliens engaged in rock fights!
It will be hard to beat the Soviet N1 launch failures for sheer size of fireballs, but the loss of life in the Challenger disaster won't soon be duplicated.
Sure, that is what they want you to think......./s
That’s an alien head. If you tilt the image to the right 90 degrees you can clearly see that it was screaming in agony when the impact ripped its head off.
Of course if it WAS an alien cube, do you think the
Chinese would tell us right away?
Oh look, it’s just a rock...
No one posted this yet.....
I see that.
Let’s try that again
https://youtu.be/yAd5pfWBRZ8?t=59
Nice try, not fooling us!
dumb Chinese
spacex will get there before the chinks
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