Yutu-2 lunar rover finds sticky soil on the far side of the moon

Alex Wilkins

A photo of the Yutu-2 moon rover was taken by the Chang'e-4 lunar probe.

Agence France-Presse

China's Yutu-2 was the first rover to visit the far side of the moon. There is a greater amount of small rocks and impact craters on the far side.

Despite several exploratory missions to the moon, crewed and uncrewed, the far side has remained unexplored because of difficulties communicating with Earth. The Yutu-2 rover was deposited by the Chang'e 4 mission.

The make-up and features of the far-side soil have been deduced by the way Yutu-2 has trundled around and on the observations it made.

The researchers found that the far side of the moon was relatively flat and that the rover didn't slip and skid as much as it would have been expected.