China moon rover bids adieu(3)

The sentimental farewell message - "good night, Earth; good night, humanity" - before entering a planned two-week dormancy in late January attracted international media attention. Ye says his friends in France and Switzerland sent clippings of local media reports on the Yutu account.

On Jan 25, when Yutu said "I'm broken" after authorities announced a mechanical control problem because of the "complicated lunar surface environment", the update was reposted more than 50,000 times.

Zong says within one week of this post, the accounts' fan base rose dramatically from about 80,000 to more than 200,000.

Many fans have become very emotional about the inevitable and imminent farewell to Yutu although they know that the rover has outlived its designed lifespan of three months.

Each day, many followers leave messages on Yutu's Weibo account, calling for the "bunny" to wake up and complete the stage of dormancy that began in late April.

"When Yutu's journey comes to its end, I will have no other choice but to stop updating the account," she says. "I've thought about what shall I say on that day, maybe some plain words like 'ah, I am out of power' or something. Anyway, I will accept that fact with a calm heart."

But until such time that Zong bids goodbye to Yutu's fans, she says she will continue to read all their posts, in detail.

"I don't respond to those who seek to cooperate for commercial purposes, but if I find questions that are likely to interest most fans or spark curiosity about space, I have a dialogue and encourage them."

Zong hopes that authorities stay open to the idea of sharing with the public technological advancements such as Yutu's lunar exploration, even in the future.