360-degree panoramic photos taken by a camera installed on the top of the lander (Image by CNSA)

China's Chang'e-4 probe took panoramic photos on the lunar surface after it successfully made the first ever soft-landing on the far side of the moon.

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) released on Jan 4, 2019 360-degree panoramic photos taken by a camera installed on the top of the lander.

The images were sent back via the relay satellite Queqiao, which is orbiting the second Lagrangian point of the earth-moon system, about 455,000 km from the earth, where it can see both the earth and the moon's far side.

Scientists have made a preliminary analysis of the terrain and landform surrounding the probe as shown in the panoramic pictures.

The Chang'e-4 probe touched down on the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin in the morning of Jan 3, and the lunar rover Yutu-2 drove onto the lunar surface late that night.

Then the rover took a "nap" as the solar radiation raised the temperature on the lunar surface to over 100 degrees centigrade. It restarted work on Jan 3.

The lander, the rover and the relay satellite are in good condition, said the CNSA.

Source：Xinhua