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Chinese Moon Rover Says an Early Goodnight
hackingbear writes "The Chinese moon rover, Jade Rabbit, encountered an abnormality in its control mechanism before its planned sleep during the 14-day-long lunar night. In the form of a diary, the Jade Rabbit said, "The shi-fu ('kung-fu masters,' meaning the scientists and engineers) are working around the clock trying to fix the problem and their eyes look like a rabbit's (red due to fatigue), but I may not be able to survive over this lunar night." (translated, original in Chinese.) The rover landed on the moon on Dec 14 and was designed to operate for three months."
Ours just keep going and going... like the Energizer bunny.
It seems that this rover and this rover measure 90 days in a different fashion.
They just don't make rovers like they use to
Rover talk like Kung-Fu Panda's dad
To serve only self is the ultimate slavery.
I was assured that the species must tremble at the might of China's space program? Maybe they forgot to pack a 3D printer to make spare parts?
I don't know. Something like this supersede geopolitics, nationalism, etc., at least for now.
Good luck, Chinese comrades.
Fuck systemd. Fuck Redhat. Fuck Soylent, too. Wait, scratch the last one.
The Jade Rabbit is an awesome piece of scientific equipment, and it's on the moon. Let's hope if makes it through the night and continues to send data that will benefit all of humanity.
I do hope they resolve the problem and keep going. It would be such an embarassment to China to have it fail on it's first night out.
You can make all the jokes you want about "Cheap Chinese Crap" you want, but you know as well as I do that when it comes to stuff that isn't intended for the dollar store sale bins, China can make as good a piece of hardware as anyone else. They wouldn't have made it to the moon in the first place if their rocket had been built with toy-maker electronics instead of mil-spec.
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
I'm curious what made in USA piece of electronics you're using to write that comment ...
You are right, *more designed in China crap.
raises the senses & spirits of all of us at once? those are not wind sprites?
...an hour later and Jade Rabbit will be hungry for waking again.
What is that, neocon word salad?
Space game using normal deck of cards: http://BattleCards.org
Shi-fu/Sifu is not a term specific to a 'kung-fu master'. It is refers to someone who is skilled in a profession or of high experience. Likewise, in Japanese the term 'sensi' doesn't equate to a 'karate master', it too is used to refer to someone skilled or experienced, such as a doctor, teacher, or even mentor.
> The shi-fu ('kung-fu masters,' meaning the scientists and engineers)
According to Wikipedia, shifu means master craftsman. Though that obviously also covers kung-fu masters, I don't think that is what the Chinese were alluding to!
I think somebody has been watching too many Hong Kong kung-fu movies.
"Shifu" means any sort of skilled manual worker, no Chinese people would think of kung fu when seeing it used in this manner. It's the common way to address mechanics, plumbers, taxi drivers etc. More slashdotters probably speak Japanese than Chinese, so consider if the submitter had written something like "Yamada-sensei (martial arts master Yamada, meaning a scientist)" - it's just as misleading as this.
*Yes, I know "sensei" is not the same word as "shifu" (and the characters would have been here if Slashdot supported unicode), but it's equivalent in that it *can* mean a martial arts master but the common meaning is completely different.
and already this USA #1-bullshit. Your country is the biggest melting pot of foreign scientists and researchers in the world, and there is nothing made in the USA today which does not build upon and directly involve talent from all over the world. You are not entitled.
The Chinese have made the whole world proud with this achievement, and you should not let your envy and superiority complex get the better of you.
You have no idea what you're talking about. All I see here is typical American envy and superiority complex.
I think it's Mxedruli forcefed through Bing Translate...
Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
A Commodore 64 running Contiki and a RR-Replay cartridge with Ethernet.
With the recent successes of the Mars rovers it's hard to remember that conditions in space are a super difficult thing to deal with. It's a huge feat all by itself to land on the moon with a functioning rover at all, as China did... so if this rover falters hopefully they'll learn from it and build another.
Better still it wakes up again and keeps going for them.
Good Luck China!
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Limited warranty, 90 days.
Mars doesn't have 2 week long nights without an atmosphere. The Mars rovers get a nice helping of solar power each 24 hr period. If there is a software glitch, you can just fix it the next day. That doesn't work on the Moon.
Greetings, everyone ! Today is the 42th earth day since I've arrived on the moon. I have several good news and one bad news. Which one do you like to hear first ?
The first good news is that after the 42 days of endeavor I've travelled more than 100 meters. the scientific equipment that I've brought with me - the radar, the panaromic camera, the x-ray scanner, the infra-red scanner, and so on, - have gathered a lot of useful data.
The second good news is that at dawn time 2 days ago I communicated directly with Ms. Chang'e 3, who is some 20 meters away from me, using the UHF antenna for the first time, without the aid of the "Shi Fu". Although Ms. Chang'e 3 couldn't reply to my message, but I know she would be extremely happy to receive my "love letter". As this was a private message between me and Ms. Chang'e 3, hope that you guys can give us some privacy ...
The third good news is Ms. Chang'e 3 already went to bed early morning yesterday, preparing for the arrival of 2nd lunar night.
Now, the bad news.
I should have gone to bed this morning, but before I went to bed, the "Shi Fu" discovered some abnormalies within my control mechanism, resulting in part of my body isn't responding to command. Right now the "Shi Fu" are cracking their heads to solve this problem, even to the stage of forgoing their beauty nap. Rumor has it that their eyes look more and more like the ones on rabbits.
Even though with the intervention of the "Shi Fu", I understand that there is a distinct possibility that I may not survive this lunar night....
....
Good night, Earth ! Good night, Earthlings !!
that americans give americans hell like this. for us, it is friendly banter.
I do hope they resolve the problem and keep going. It would be such an embarassment to China to have it fail on it's first night out.
Actually that Jade Rabbit had survived its first lunar night out. This upcoming lunar night is the 2nd.
Yutu's failure might help calm the Chinese government's ego for a short while. China's regime scares the hell out of me.
Those kids that they had build that will be so disappointed. Might have to go back to building iphones.
--- Always remember. 99.36% of all statistics are inaccurate.
GG NORE
The Japanese word "Sensei" was from the Chinese word "Xian Sheng" which carries a meaning of "teacher" today.
In ancient time where most peasants were illiterates, the honorific title "Xian Sheng" was reserved for those who knew how to read and write.
I'm curious what made in USA piece of electronics you're using to write that comment ...
How about a Lenovo on its 3rd motherboard?
I had no idea China landed a rover on the moon. Google for pics and I'm glad to see this, especially another country with a lot of resources doing space exploration.
The US media sucks and spends all their time talking about Justin Bieber and the NFL player Sherman and such --- enough I mostly avoid the "so called" news --- which largely pumps pop culture crap as news.
Priest: "Universe from nothing, no laws of physics, sped up time"+ huge discrepancies. Creationism? No. Big Bang Theory
Clearly he's using a MacPro.
I thought it was Glen Beck's teleprompter.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Welcome to the internet. Just yesterday, there was an article about Kentucky and most of the initial comments were bigoted nonsense. Blame nationalism if you like, but understand that such comments come from people who are just as likely to denigrate their own countrymen. If you value your sanity, please don't take such behavior personally.
It could have been fixed sooner, but they are stuck in phone menu hell trying to get a live person at the call center in Mumbai.
No but our USian bosses who outsourced all our manufacturing are getting a piece of the pie on the Chinese made laptop that I am using to type this message,
History repeats itself into infinity.
When the Mongols conquered the Chinese, they did not need to lay siege to the wall; they just bribed the Chinese gate keepers. Today in the USA a similar thing is happening. Our leaders have no loyalty to the country they are supposed to be leading. I just hope all the daughter of the USian oligarchs are sold into prostitution in the good old PRC.
First comes humility, then greatness, then pride, then shame, then humility again. The situation in the USA is very similar to the situation in China in the 18th century. The USA had a good run and thought the world revolved around USA, just like the Chinese thought they were the center of the world back in the bad old days. I wonder if the Chinese will be sending warships over to the USA to force us to buy their opium. Probably not the US is already controlled by the highest bidder (China). The question is will the USA rise from its lunar night or will it fall to sleep for the next 1000 years or so.
Might always makes right, and the ones that are right are the ones that have the best economy. All wars are economic wars, and the ones that win the wars are the ones with the best economy. During WWII the USians didn't outfight the Germans, they outproduced the Germans. Yes the war was largely one by the women making all the bullets and bombers back on the mainland. Read Audi Murphy's (WWII most highly decorated USian soldier) autobiography if you don't believe me. The USA is going to get its ass kicked if we don't get our act together.
Who still trying to trust China is a moron. Anything China is neither bought or stole from somewhere else.
Hong Kong - International Joke Center (after 1997-06-30)
Didn't Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" sing a song called "Moon Rover"?
That's the first thought I had when I saw this topic.
I am anarch of all I survey.
I mean let's see what's in the thread right now: An energizer bunny joke about the US mars rovers, someone saying good luck to the Chinese and how this transcends politics, someone saying Jade Rabbit is awesome, someone who hopes they resolve the problem, someone correcting the use of shi-fu, and then this.
So basically, he's making shit up. The higher rated comments are nearly all encouragement, and the one referencing the US rovers is a joke. This moron wants there to be a bunch of US nationalism for him to hate on, but there's not, so he just pretends like there is anyhow. He's making up reasons for US hate/China strong.
Also there's the stupid crap of trying to make the US look bad because "Your country is the biggest melting pot of foreign scientists and researchers in the world." As though the US is so stupid and has to import foreigners to do any work. No, quite the opposite actually: American universities are still some of the very best research institutions in the world, despite all the cuts and problems, and people come from around the world to work at them and do research. The US is a melting pot precisely because of the excellence of its research institutions, and in allowing people from all over to come, it helps to continue that excellence and enrich the world's knowledge.
The grandparent is just a jackass. He really wants this to be some kind of China hate thread so he can hate on that to try and deflect things from the rover's problem. Instead it is a thread largely of people saying "Good luck China, we hope you fix the problem and your rover continues to work."
Insight from Spike Jonze and Ikea (SFW, 1:01 minutes)
Lasted longer than than the US brand name appliances I buy nowadays...
I hope your masters get you back to work again.
almost, I checked - it's Peter Lilley's secretary's notes on climate change
Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
I don't usually respond to ACs, but you take the biscuit of one who completely fucking misses the point of the parent post.
I didn't mention anything about manifest destiny, you did. What I was alluding to was the fact that the similarities between Lunar samples and Terran samples was essentially the same, implying that they originated from the same place.
To piss all over your claim, there is no trace of heavy elements in the Sun - the heaviest element so far detected in the solar spectrum has been oxygen, the most abundant non-hydrogen/helium element being carbon. Elements heavier than iron are found nowhere else but supernova remnants and in the rock of nth generation planetary systems. During the accretion process, heavier elements are drawn towards the centre of the system to form rocky planets, lighter elements either into the star itself or to the outer regions forming gas giants and smaller ice bodies. Ergo, the distribution of proportion of elements throughout the Universe is ANYTHING BUT uniform.
But of course you knew all that, didn't you, because you're a smart fucker, aren't you.
Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
I sent a friend's N900 off for repair last year and an unused one came back along with the faulty one which they hadn't bothered to repair.
Sorry guys. Need coffee or sleep.
... and already this USA #1-bullshit. Your country is the biggest melting pot of foreign scientists and researchers in the world ...
Our greatness is in our ideas, our willingness to try new things. We are not held back by centuries/millennia of tradition. We are not deluded by the idea of a racial superiority, a tribal superiority. Unlike many other nations our "nationalism" is not racial or tribal, rather its is founded on ideas.
... and there is nothing made in the USA today which does not build upon and directly involve talent from all over the world ...
Same is true for other countries and true to an even higher degree with respect to China. Well that is if you are referring to invented or discovered as opposed to merely manufactured.
... The Chinese have made the whole world proud with this achievement, and you should not let your envy and superiority complex get the better of you.
What envy? Been there done that. Maybe we envied the USSR lunar rover of many decades ago. As for China, congratulations and all but the feeling is more of a welcome to the neighborhood.
Hmm, we have a sort of precedent for that. Did the native peoples of the New World put aside their petty differences, rally together and be on the same side for once when the Europeans came over or did they split apart, some siding with them, some siding against them, some forming temporary alliances for quick gain, some shifting with the wind depending on which side was winning, fighting each other etc? Same for the native peoples of Africa.
Let's hope they fix it!
Of course there are traces of heavy elements in the Sun, it was formed from the same nebula as the Earth which had been enriched by supernovas. Wiki says that 1.69% (5,600 times the Earths mass) of the Sun is heavier elements including 0.2% iron. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
To piss all over your claim, there is no trace of heavy elements in the Sun - the heaviest element so far detected in the solar spectrum has been oxygen, the most abundant non-hydrogen/helium element being carbon.
This is simply wrong. A great number of elements have been detected in the Solar spectrum. The iron lines are among the most prominent. Look up Fraunhofer lines.
Human invaders. The comparison with non-human invaders to me, isn't valid. Of course this would work if the alien invaders were like in Star Trek e.g. humans with a specific planet-wide invariant culture and funny noses. :D
I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
Yup
The Jade Rabbit is an awesome piece of scientific equipment, and it's on the moon. Let's hope if makes it through the night and continues to send data that will benefit all of humanity.
You should not separate the tech from it's intentions. This rover wasn't sent up for the sake of tech, it was sent up because this is a step towards China's own national presence off planet.
I hope this ends soon. Robert Oppenheimer and others proposed a central global authority to control the world's plutonium. Since we know we only have so much left, each interested country could take part in a new organization that starts from scratch with no historical precedents hanging over it and use the plutonium only for space exploration.
Each country could & would want to contribute because everyone wants to get back into space & nuclear power helps alot.
In general I think nuclear power's time has come. You can list all the dangers but we have the same vulnerability with anything. Just look at the recent rail cars carrying oil products that crashed and burned in Canada almost destroying a whole town & killing 30+ people.
Thank you Dave Raggett
The first comment was a rah-rah america #1. The comment you cite about support came much later.
Not really worth gloating when you "face planted" your mars probe due to incompetence, is it.
is that the Chinese see everything through the eyes of 'how can we exploit this for further gain'. Read about WHY they want to go: military control and stripping anything and everything of minerals. They have picked up on the core evil of capitalism and will out evil all.
captcha: pollutes
It seems the writer of the article hasn't learned there are no "dark sides" to the Moon.
Been there done that.
No doubt when it fails we wont hear any more mention of it ever again and then there will be the next one rushed to do the same thing about a year from now as if it was their first attempt. Even with technologies matured after 50 years taken to make this thing - its not a great showing for their propaganda (lets see the subject get blocked on their internet filters sometime soon).
- Shiong mao niao
Panda piss.
I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
It took 3 Chinese made keyboards to type that sente@#$@$@#$
It took 4 Chinese made keyboards to type that sentence out.
Why do they not have fixed, upward facing panels on the thing, at least a minimum number needed to boot the bastard and deploy it's other panels?
Direct sunlight, no atmosphere the sheer bulk of power slamming every surface of this thing during the daylight hours ought to be enough to reboot it.
KISS- Keep It Simple, Stupid. The very basis of any engineering project. If it lives and dies by solar power, then a complex aim-and-stowaway solar array that a single glitch will kill the whole rover is opposite of the smart way to go. maybe add that to it to boost power- on top of a simple fixed array system that is sufficient to operate basic systems.
Hell, I'd put a couple on the bottom that are enough to operate the main computer and an articulation arm strong enough to flip it back over...
The moon as a captured asteroid/space debris will be a much lower concentration of heavy substances, based on it's rocky composition.
the moon as an impact artifact- broken off from the Earth- means a much higher composition of heavy elements that we need. No one needs more rocks- everyone needs more metals.
I may be wrong, but I believe this means more water in the crystal structure as well if formed from Earth.
People rag on China, and talk about their great American, Japanese, or Korean made whatchamacallit- completely ignoring the fact that every single piece of it was made in China.
Many Chinese knockoffs are not knockoffs.
let's say a factory makes Widgets, and these are popular items. they are commissioned to make 1000 Widgets per day.
Well, that factory rolls off 1100 Widgets, sends the 1000 to fulfil the order, then sells the additional 100 on the black market. The difference between the prime Widget and the knockoff Widget: price. nothing more.
Yes, there are cheap knockoffs. These are pretty easy to spot- they usually are not a valid option - like a Ferrari with a Yugo engine option....
I saw Beats headphones galore when I was overseas. I bought a couple of pairs at $25 (Solo HD) a piece and took them to a beats freak I knew. I knew they were "fakes" but did not tell him, and asked him to authenticate them as the seller seemed "fishy". He could not tell the difference, and eventually pronounced them genuine. I suspect, aside from a serial number check, the Beats folks themselves could not tell. Pretty damn good $25 headphones. I used one pair and gave the others to my son. No way I'd pay $300 for em... but I'd pay $25 for em any day.
I have had them for 2 years. They still sound and look as good as the day I bought them.
American companies will give/sell them the same designs they have made. By the way, are there any "ameri8can" companies there? Rethink your inane...
Thanks. That must be why there's a word for that : star metallicity.
I just hope that this Moon/Mars thing isn't plan B in case their environmental policies destroy this planet. Hard to imagine being a human ... and flourishing in the confines of space. Kirk had a nack for finding places with breathable atmospheres, and hot space nymphs, but thats Hollywood. Flexing might and muscle without concern for anyone else is not recipe FTW.
Time for a new Political party in the US (or two!) One is off the rails Other cant pony up a leader.
And the funny thing about those Engrish jokes is that while we're are laughing at poorly translated packaging and signs, they are laughing at all the western idiots with Chinese tattoos with equally poor translations. At least they can update their signs...
"designed to operate for three months" - is it some sort of Chinese standard?