China's Chang'e-4 probe resumes work for 11th lunar day

The lander and the rover of the Chang'e-4 probe have resumed work for the 11th lunar day on the far side of the moon after "sleeping" during the extremely cold night.

Photo taken by the rover Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit-2) on Jan. 11, 2019 shows the lander of the Chang'e-4 probe. [File photo: Xinhua]

The lander woke up at 5:11 a.m. Wednesday (Beijing Time), and the rover, Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit-2), awoke at 11:45 a.m. Tuesday. Both are in normal working conditions, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration.

The rover has traveled about 290 meters on the moon to conduct scientific exploration on the virgin territory.

The Chang'e-4 probe, launched on Dec. 8, 2018, made the first-ever soft landing on the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon on Jan. 3, 2019.

A lunar day equals 14 days on Earth, and a lunar night is the same length. The Chang'e-4 probe switched to a dormant mode during the lunar night due to the lack of solar power.