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NASA's Moon Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spotted the undercarriage and the Chinese rover on the far side of the moon. Chang'e 4 explores the soil of the crater Von Kármán after landing on the moon on January 3rd. The crater 110 km wide (180 km) is in the southern hemisphere and is never facing the Earth.
The Chang'e 4 mission includes a fixed lander and a mobile, each equipped with a camera and scientific instruments.
The two vehicles were built as spare parts for the Chinese mission Chang'e 3, which was the first Chinese lunar lander, to land on the moon side in December 2013.
The Chinese authorities reassigned Chang'e 4 with new scientific instruments and sent it away from the moon.
Last year, a communication satellite launched by China relayed signals between the Earth and Chang'e 4.
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The hidden face of the Moon has a very different appearance.
An increase or craters and rough terrain are in the area.
Chang'e 4 will explore a site of the Von Kármán crater filled with basaltic lava from a nearby crater.
LOR's principal investigator, Mark Robinson, wrote on his blog: "Chang'e 4 will collect measurements of the composition of these basaltic rocks on the far side, and lunar scientists are eagerly awaiting these results.
"Are the volcanic rocks on the opposite side different from the basalt collected on the near side? We will have to wait and see!
"According to the CNSA (China National Space Administration), the Chang'e 4 instrumentation includes the Visible Near-Infrared Spectrometer (NIS), which takes measurements that can be used to answer this question.
"This new information from the surface will provide important ground truth, while the combination of surface and orbital measurements provides a synergy that will advance knowledge of the far side."
The LRO, approaching its tenth anniversary in orbit, examined the surface of the moon and looked for ice in the water, looking for cold pockets.
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