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The sun finally sets on China's lunar rover

It was designed to last three months, but survived for more than two years.

China's Jade Rover has led a pretty interesting life even by the standards of most devices sent to examine another celestial body. It began its tour of duty on the moon back in 2013, died and was resurrected in 2014 before making a huge discovery in 2015. But now, alas, Xinhua News is reporting that China's State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry has confirmed the droid's second and permanent demise.

It's a sad day for the 'bot's social media following, but China can be rightly proud of Jade Rover's record-breaking longevity. Not only has it had the longest operational period of any craft sent to the moon, it also determined that the moon was made of different types of rock. In addition, Jade Rover was only expected to survive for around three months, but in fact survived from December 14th, 2013, through to August 2016. Not bad for a little rabbit.