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The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has released a mesmerising video from its Chang鈥檈 4 lander showing the moment it landed on the moon鈥檚 far side on 3 January.
The craft had to perform the landing autonomously, since it could not communicate in real-time with mission control. It is now sending back data via a relay satellite positioned with a line of sight to both Earth and the lander.
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The landing site, an enormous depression called the South Pole-Aitken basin,聽is thought to be a crater from a huge impact during the moon鈥檚 early years.
The CNSA also released a 360-degree panoramic photo from the lander, pictured below, showing the Yutu 2聽rover amid the lunar landscape. The terrain is littered with small craters, which could make it challenging for the rover to navigate.
Yutu 2 returned to action聽on Thursday after taking a break while solar radiation raised the temperature in the crater to over 100掳C.
