The panoramic moon photos were assembled by photographer and writer Ken Kremer and his colleagues using individual images from the Chang'e 3 lander, as well as its Yutu rover. Chinese Chang'e 3 mission scientists are currently working on a potentially serious malfunction on the Yutu rover, as it and the lander hibernate through their second 14-day "night" on the moon.

 

The first image here was stitched from six pictures released to a state-run Chinese news outlet. The initial panoramic view of China's Chang'e 3 moon lander and rover was then enhanced to improve contrast, lighting and uniformity, which resulted in revealed more detail. [See more photos from China's Chang'e 3 moon mission]

 

Kremer and his partners then created a time-lapse panoramic image to show how the Yutu moon rover moves by adding it to additional positions onto the first panoramic.

 

"I scoured all the sources and found two additional locations where Yutu was imaged," Kremer wrote SPACE.com in an email. "Altogether it [the second time-lapse panoramic] shows Yutu at three different positions around the landing site and gives a real sense of how she is maneuvering around."