Breathtaking new images of the world captured by Chinese lunar rover

China's lunar rover, Yutu-2 Stunning high-definition photographs of the moon.

The pictures show the dusty lunar ground pitted with craters, tracks made by Yutu-2 after descent from the Chang'e-4 lander, and Yutu-2's own shadow on the surface on the Moon.

They were captured by the rover's camera, and they made it their way west from their landing site in the South Pole-Aitken basin – an impact crater on the far side of the moon.

The South Pole-Aitken basin is of interest because it is believed that an ancient lunar impact may have exposed the moon's mantle in this area.

By studying this region, scientists hope to learn more about the early solar system and Earth, and demonstrate the feasibility of future human and robotic far side missions.

Since landing on the moon in January, Chang'e-4 and Yutu-2 have been conducting science and exploration tasks in the Von Kármán crater.

The compound is believed to be composed of various chemical compounds, including thorium, iron oxide, and titanium dioxide, which could provide clues about the origin of the lunar mantle.

Progress has been slowed down during both lunar nights – a roughly 2-week period each month – when their location is in darkness.

The rover is also required to take intermittent "naps" – brief periods of hibernation – because of the brutal daytime temperatures, which soar to 200 degrees centigrade.

Despite this, however, Chang'e's mission has already greatly exceeded expectations, according to the Planetary Society.

The rover and lander were only initially, but when they wake up from their current hibernation on April 28 they will be going on their fifth lunar day.

The rover has covered 178.9 meters since deployment of the Chang'e-4 lander, carefully navigating the area in order to approach and analysis specimens with its visible and infrared spectrometer.

Some environment modeling will be required to publish this data in the future, but the results will be published in the next month or so.