China's "Yutu" (Jade Rabbit) lunar rover has been officially declared "dead" after 31 months on the surface of the Moon.

At the time of its death, Yutu held the record as longest operating rover on the Moon. China's first Moon rover reached this milestone in October 2015. The demise of the rover was announced by the State Administration for Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense.

Like Us on Facebook

The agency said Yutu was declared a derelict on July 31 after a total of 31 months, well beyond its original expected lifespan of only three months.

Yutu was a star in Chinese social media since its landing on the Moon. Its last post on Weibo received over 100,000 shares, likes and comments, said the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

While it remained alive, Yutu sent back data that helped Chinese scientists write more than a hundred scientific papers and deepened their understanding of lunar geology. The data also revealed a type of Moon rock undiscovered by the U.S. and Soviet missions.

Yutu could have done more if I were able to move. A major glitch soon after it landed triggered by plunging temperatures during the two week-long lunar night caused Yutu to stop a short distance from Chang'e-3.

It hasn't moved from that spot since. Despite being immobilized, the rover's instruments (including a telescope) kept on working.

The glitch was so severe its controllers at the China National Space Administration declared Yutu dead in February 2014, two months after it first rolled onto the lunar regolith at the Mare Imbrium. The rover came back online a few weeks later, however, but was unable to move.

Chang'e-3 landed 786 kilometers from Apollo 15, the first manned lunar mission to use the "Moon Buggy."

The Chang'e 3 lunar mission was launched Dec. 1, 2013 and reached the Moon's surface on Dec. 14. The mission was the first soft landing on the Moon since 1976 and the first rover to operate since the Soviet Union's Lunokhod 2 ceased operations on May 11, 1973.

TagsYutu, jade rabbit, moon, Chang'e-3