However, in preparation for the approaching lunar night, the Rabbit was unable to reach a state of "hibernation" necessary in order to protect its fragile electronics from the cold, devastating the Chinese public. Thousands wished Yutu well via social media, in a way saying goodbye to the much loved explorer.
The last report from the Jade Rabbit was eerily self-aware, deep, and heroic:
"This is space exploration; the danger comes with its beauty. I am but a tiny dot in the vast picture of mankind's adventure in space.
"The sun has fallen, and the temperature is dropping so quickly... to tell you all a secret, I don't feel that sad. I was just in my own adventure story - and like every hero, I encountered a small problem.
"Goodnight, Earth, goodnight, humanity."
My opinion on this is that it's really quite sad. Although the Jade Rabbit was technically not American in origin, it reflected a worldwide trend of humanizing robots and electronic devices.
Original article by Wilfred Chan here.
I love this story but the title sounds like a horror film.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Although it's amazing and incredible that we have the technology to create robots this complex, it's kind of sad that they are being humanized. One day, nearly all jobs could be taken care of by robots, proving humans obsolete.
ReplyDeleteAww. That last quote by the robot made me really sad. Then again, who ever thought we'd be quoting a robot, or even feel emotion from what it says?? It really is amazing how far we've come in technology.
ReplyDeleteI think that it's very interesting that robots can cause us humans to feel emotions, since they cannot feel emotion at all. In different Asian cultures, there is said to be the shape of a rabbit on the moon (much like the myth of "the man in the moon"), so it's neat that they named a lunar explorer after that.
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