The State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) said that Chang'e-3, China's first lunar lander, has operated on the moon for 31 months, exceeding its design life by 19 months.
Chang'e-3 entered its 33th lunar night on July 28. A lunar night lasts approximately 14 earth days, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
According to SASTIND, the Chang'e-3 has collected a large amount of scientific data, and the Jade Rabbit, far exceeding its design life of three months, completed many challenging missions for Chang'e-3, such as obtaining images of the moon's geological layers for the first time.