‘It came back to life’: China’s Jade Rabbit snaps out of silence but mechanical kinks remain

The Jade Rabbit lunar rover has bounced back to life but is suffering the same problems as before, state media reported on Thursday.

China National Radio quoted the country’s lunar programme spokesman Pei Zhaoyu as saying the rover showed signs of "wakefulness".

“It’s basically returned to the state it was in before it went to sleep,” Pei said. “It’s awake, but the problems are still there.”

Xinhua posted on its official Weibo account also quoting Pei as saying the lunar rover still could be saved.

“Jade Rabbit went to sleep in an abnormal state. We were worried it wouldn’t be able to endure the lunar night’s extremely low temperatures, but it’s come back to life! As long as it’s alive, there’s the possibility it can be saved.”