Yutu (Chang'e 3 rover)

Ended

Facts last verified against primary sources on 2026-10-10

Facts

Operator: CNSA
Country: CN
Type: rover
Launch: 2013-12-01 17:30 UTC
Landing: 2013-12-14 13:11 UTC

Landing site

Mare Imbrium (near the Chang'e 3 lander) · 44.1208°N 19.5122°W ± 12.9 m

Soft landing · source: pds.lroc.im-ldi.com

Landed

Planned landing site

Crash or hard landing

Hover for names · click to open · drag to turn

Timeline

2013-12-14 20:35 UTCDrove off the lander onto the surface

Links

Sources

LROC Anthropogenic (man-made) Features on the Moon, PDS LRO-L-LROC-5-RDR-V1.0 EXTRAS/SHAPEFILE/ANTHROPOGENIC_OBJECTS (Wagner et al. 2017, Icarus 283, 92-103)README last updated 2026-08-142026-10-10
Siddiqi, A. A. (2018) Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958-2016, NASA SP-2018-40412nd edition, 20182026-10-10
LROC: Chang'e 3 Lander and Rover From Above2026-10-10
NSSDCA Master Catalog: Chang'e 3 (2013-070A)2026-10-10

Generated 2026-10-10T00:00:00Z

Landed aboard Chang'e 3. Coordinates are the LROC-measured rover position from averaged NAC images (LROC anthropogenic objects table); the table does not say which date's position this is, so it may not be the final parked position. Yutu became immobile in late January 2014 after about 0.114 km of driving and was officially declared dead in August 2016 (Siddiqi 2018); no exact day is published there, so end_utc is omitted.