New Delhi, India

Chang'e-6, China's latest mission to the Moon, seems to be carrying a secret rover. 

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After the successful launch of the spacecraft on Friday (May 3), the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) released new photos of the lander, and internet sleuths were quick to spot a small grey object with wheels strapped to the side. The object looks like a mini rover. Its purpose? Unknown.

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'Previously undisclosed mini rover'

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Taking to X, previously Twitter, Andrew Jones, a journalist closely tracking China's space programme, wrote in a post, "Yeah, okay. That looks like a previously undisclosed mini rover on the side of the Chang'e-6 lander".

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What will the mini rover do? No one knows yet.

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As per a Live Science report, a translated statement from the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics revealed that the small robot has an infrared imaging spectrometer. Its purpose, however, remains unclear. But, given its small size and the conditions it will face on the Moon, SpaceNews predicts that whatever the mission, it will fall short.

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"Given the diminutive size of the vehicle and short lifetime of the mission lander, it is likely the rover will have limited operational time and objectives."

Previous sneaky space missions by China

According to SpaceNews, this is not the first time China has sneaked undisclosed payloads onto its spacecraft. 

Previously, in 2021, during China's Tianwen-1 mission to Mars, the nation's spacecraft ejected a disposable spacecraft that took pictures of Tianwen-1 on its way to the red planet.

The Tianwen-1 orbiter was also equipped with another detachable camera that took selfies while in orbit around Mars.

Further, the Zhurong rover, that was part of the Tianwen-1 mission, also dropped a camera on the red planet.

(With inputs from agencies)