The Chinese lunar rover Yutu 2 detected on the surface of the Moon an apparently square formation that was dubbed by the Space Administration in China (CNSA) as a “mysterious cabin”, as reported by the government portal ‘Our Space’ on the social network Weixin. On an expedition for 36 months since last October, the strange promontory is 80 meters away and caught the attention of scientists, who decided to direct the vehicle in its direction.
Yutu 2 arrived on the moon aboard the Chang’e-4 unmanned spacecraft in 2019 and is tasked with exploring the other side of the moon. It has six wheels, two solar panels for power, a radar and several cameras to explore this part of Earth’s natural satellite, whose natural rotation is slowed down by gravity, meaning we never see that half.
Upon sending the mission to the moon, Chinese experts predicted shortly after the Chang’e-4’s launch that there would be “amazing discoveries” in which “deeply hidden information” could be revealed. “Is it a house built by aliens after falling on the moon? Or is it a pioneer ship of the predecessors that explored the Moon?”, wrote, in a playful tone, those responsible for the CNSA.
As the Yutu-2 still needs to get closer to the structure to study it better, it may take some time before we know more about its true nature. That’s because the rover is powered by solar energy and has its systems turned off during the lunar night, which lasts for two terrestrial weeks. Despite being only 80 meters away, the approach of the rover should take between two and three lunar days (two and three terrestrial months), as the path is treacherous and full of obstacles.
Ah. We have an update from Yutu-2 on the lunar far side, including an image of a cubic shape on the northern horizon ~80m away from the rover in Von Kármán crater. Referred to as “神秘小屋” (“mystery house”), the next 2-3 lunar days will be spent getting closer to check it out. pic.twitter.com/LWPZoWN05I
– Andrew Jones (@AJ_FI) December 3, 2021
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