Scientists confirm Moon's 'mystery hut' is actually a rock with new Yutu-2 rover pics

Last December, the Chinese Yutu-2 rover had spotted an outcrop on the lunar surface which soon became a hot topic. Initially unrecognisable, the outcrop started being speculated as a ‘mystery hut’ on the far side of the Moon. Over a month after several theories, scientists finally know what it really is, thanks to clearer images beamed back by the rover.

After a weeks-long journey towards the supposed 'mystery hut', the rover has now identified that the outcrop is nothing but a lumpy rock. As part of the Chang'e-4 mission, the rover is exploring the Von Kármán crater on the far side of the Moon since it landed on the lunar surface in January 2019. When the first images were released, due to poor resolution owing to the distance between the rover and the rock made it look like a cube-shaped structure sitting at the horizon of the Moon. 

The final explanation about the outcrop being a rock was shared during the rover team update by the Chinese space program, which cleared the air. Interestingly, the scientists, who were reportedly a little disappointed, now called the rock a 'jade rabbit' owing to its appearance. Although this should not come by as a surprise since Philip Stooke, a professor at the University of Western Ontario had already warned that the outcrop is not a hut but a rock.

According to the operators of the Yutu-2 rover, it was the rover's 36th day of operation and the rover was just 80 metres away from the rock when it first spotted it. Two days later, Yutu-2 started venturing towards the former 'mystery hut' and crossed the 1000-metre travel mark in doing so. 

China’s Chang’e-4 mission

China had launched the Chang’e-4 mission in 2019 and the rover Yutu 2 landed on the lunar surface on January 3 inside the Chang’e-4 lander. The Yutu rover is a solar-powered machine that is scanning the Von Kármán crater which is a massive 186 kilometres wide. The Chang’e-4 mission delivered the second rover and is China’s fourth overall quest to the Moon. Previously, China has launched Chang'e-1 and 2 missions with orbiters in both whereas the Chang’e-3 mission took the first Chinese rover, which was Yutu 1 to the Moon.

(Image: Twitter/@AJ_FI)