A model of the Chang'e-3 lunar rover is on display at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre on Nov. 5, 2013, in Shanghai, China. (Photo : Getty Images)
"Hi! This could be the last greetings from me!"
The farewell message written on the Sina Weibo social media portal by user "Jade Rabbit Lunar Rover," which posts first-person accounts of Yutu, China's moon rover, quickly became viral on Chinese social media.
"The moon says it has prepared a long, long dream for me, and I'm wondering what the dream would be like-- would I be a mars explorer, or be sent back to earth?" the lunar rover continued.
The post received an estimated 100,000 shares, likes, and comments.
"Good night bunny, Chinese astronauts will bring you home and you will never be alone," said one commenter.
"Have a sweet dream! You will get countless carrot pies in your dream," another netizen said.
Yutu, an unmanned lunar rover that formed part of China's Chang'e 3 lunar mission, will cease operation after 973 days of service on the moon, a source from the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense told the state-owned People's Daily newspaper on Tuesday.
Named after the pet rabbit of Chang'e, the moon goddess of ancient Chinese mythology, Yutu and its antics proved to be hugely popular across China. Its greeting "Hi, anybody there?" which was posted on February 13, 2014, just two hours after the rover "woke" again and narrowly survived after suffering mechanical difficulties, prompted more than 60,000 reposts and 40,000 comments.
Built to last for just three months, Yutu has been operating on the moon for over two years, surpassing the record of the Soviet Union's 1970 moon rover Lunokhod 1, which spent 11 months on the moon.
Reflecting on his own existence, the lunar adventurer mused as being the "rabbit that has seen the most stars".
It also said that there were many questions left unanswered and was looking forward to additional explorations in the future.
"If you are going to explore the deep universe, remember to take pictures and share with me," it said.
Many Chinese netizens expressed their dismay after reading Yutu's last post.
"I don't know why I am so heartbroken. It's just a machine after all," said one netizen.
Some wistful netizen also shared imaginative endings to Yutu's life.
"Years later, an astronaut, one of the many young fans of Yutu as child, finds a chip among a pile of metal objects (on the Moon). Seconds after he inserts the chip in his computer, to his great surprise, a message pops up: 'Hi, my dear, I've been waiting for you. From Yutu.'" wrote one netizen.
