Chang’e 3

Chinese lunar probe

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July 21, 2026

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The Chang'e 3 mission was China's third lunar probe, launched in December 2013. It consisted of a lander and a rover named Yutu, after the rabbit companion of the moon goddess Chang'e. Chang'e 3 achieved a controlled landing in Mare Imbrium on December 14, 2013, making China the third country to successfully land a probe on the Moon after the Soviet Union and the United States. The mission's objectives included conducting astronomical observations with an ultraviolet telescope and studying lunar material with the rover's instruments, including ground-penetrating radar. The mission also discovered a new type of basalt.1

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Chang’e
Chang’e 3 launched on December 2, 2013. The spacecraft consisted of a 1,200-kg (2,600-pound) lander, which carried a 120-kg (260-pound) rover, called Yutu after the rabbit that accompanied the goddess Chang’e to the Moon. The lander touched down in Mare Imbrium in the Moon’s northern…
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Chang’e 3 launched on December 2, 2013. The spacecraft consisted of a 1,200-kg (2,600-pound) lander, which carried a 120-kg (260-pound) rover, called Yutu after the rabbit that accompanied the goddess Chang’e to the Moon. The lander touched down in Mare Imbrium in the Moon’s northern…
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Moon
Return to the Moon
Chang’e 3 launched in 2013 and landed on the Moon, the first such landing since Luna 24 in 1976. It carried a robotic rover, Yutu, which operated for almost three years.
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Chang’e 3 launched in 2013 and landed on the Moon, the first such landing since Luna 24 in 1976. It carried a robotic rover, Yutu, which operated for almost three years.
Read More