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"  A model of the Yutu lunar rover. Credit: ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images The Chinese National Space Administration&amp;#039;s (CNSA) announcement of its early December lunar rover mission is historic in many ways. For one, it&amp;#039;s been almost 40 years since there&amp;#039;s been a soft landing on the moon when the Soviet Union landed the Luna probe in 1976. Also, China is coming off a summer of success after completing the Shenzhou 10 mission in late June, a mission that docked with China&amp;#039;s space station, Tiangong-1. It will also be the first time the young space agency has tried to soft land on any body in space. The state-run Xinhua news agency reports that after a national poll, China&amp;#039;s first lunar rover will be named Yutu, a moniker that references a Chinese folktale of a jade rabbit that lives on the moon. In the tale, Yutu is the companion on Chang&amp;#039;e, the Moon goddess and also the name of the CNSA&amp;#039;s lunar mission. Head of the lunar project, Ouyang Ziyuan, told Xinhua that the ancient Chinese identified three outlines on the moon&amp;#039;s surface: a moon palace, osmanthus trees, and a jade rabbit. Yutu is a gold-colored, six-wheeled vehicle that will explore the Sinus Iridum, also known as the Bay of Rainbows, which is plain of basaltic lava. The rover has four cameras and two mechanical legs that can examine soil samples. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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