TWO weeks of frigid lunar night ended for China鈥檚 Jade Rabbit moon rover last weekend, but the crippled craft failed to wake. There were hopes it could be revived, but as 快猫短视频 went to press it was still not responding.
If Jade Rabbit really is dead, the temptation in some quarters will be to dance on the grave of China鈥檚 entire moon programme. Not so fast. Historically, about half of all moon missions have failed. China won鈥檛 let one failure get in the way of its ambitious plans 鈥� including a crewed lunar base (see 鈥�Red star rising: China鈥檚 ascent to space superpower鈥�).
And if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the fact that the US has revived its interest in the moon after decades of inaction is telling. On Tuesday, NASA began to accept applications from private companies for a new programme that aims to build robots for lunar mining.
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Whatever the fate of the rabbit, China has put the moon back on the map 鈥� and has shown it is a force to be reckoned with.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淎 big bunny hop for China鈥�
