Moon rover Yutu awake again

China's moon rover Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, has woken up right before the Mid-Autumn Festival, beginning its 10th working cycle after serving for seven months longer than designed.

Four of Yutu's primary scientific instruments, including a panorama camera and a radar, are functioning nominally, while the moon rover itself is also working normally, said Wu Weiren, chief designer for China's lunar program.

The moon rover left earth more than 280 days ago and has woken up for nine times on the moon, according to the popular "Yutu" Sina Weibo account, which is jointly run by the Xinhua News Agency and science website guokr.com on Monday.

The moon rover touched down on the moon's surface on December 15, 2013 after separating from a lander for the lunar probe Chang'e-3.