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1 The Operations of China’s First Lunar Rover Xi Luhua,Chen Xianfeng, Xie Yuan Beijing Aerospace Control Centre, Beijing Chang’E-3, the second phase of the China Lunar Exploration Project, consisting of a Lander and a rover, is planned to be launched in 2013. The rover is a highly autonomous six-wheeled terrain vehicle on the surface of the moon. The rover has 3 pair of “eyes”: navigation cameras and panoramic cameras, both mounted on a mast, hazard avoidance cameras mounted on the lower portion on the front of the rover. The cameras work in cooperation by providing a complementary view of the terrain and aid in rover navigation and also perform science investigations. Additionally, the rover has a robotic arm which has flexibility through three joints: shoulder, elbow and wrist. The robotic arm enables the scientific instrument at the end of the arm to extend, bend, and angle precisely against a rock or soil to analyze the elemental composition of them. Beijing Aerospace Control Centre (BACC), as the control centre of the China Lunar Exploration Project, faces big challenges to operate the China’s first lunar rover. This paper gives an overview over the rover setup, describes how the operations of rover in practice is designed and how the control system of the rover in BACC is built. It also details the necessary adaptation of the current BACC infrastructure as well as how to meet the demanding requirements of the rover operations within a relatively short time in a costly manner. Finally it is described which specific tools are utilized and how the interfaces of each subsystem are handled. Introduction China Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP) comprises three stages. The objectives of three stages are orbit, land and return respectively. Named after the Chinese goddess of the Moon, Chang'e-1 was launched in October 2007 and ended its life by crashing the moon. Chang’e-2 was launched in October 2010 and is circling Lagrange 2 in the extension lifetime. Chang’e-3, involving a Lander and a rover, is scheduled to land probes on the moon in 2013 and carry out point detection and rover detection on the moon surface. The lunar rover is one which will traverse on the moon, and it’s also the first China’s mobile robot working on a celestial body besides earth. The rover is a six-wheeled, solar-powered robot which can handle the moon’s gravity, and withstand intense cosmic rays and temperature differences that run between minus-180 degrees Celsius at night and 150 degrees in the day. The rover has 3 pairs of “eyes”: navigation and panoramic cameras, both mounted on a mast, and hazard avoidance cameras mounted on the lower portion on the front of the rover. The cameras work in cooperation by providing a complementary view of the terrain and aid in rover navigation and also perform science investigations. Additionally, the rover has a robotic arm which has flexibility through three joints: shoulder, elbow and wrist. The robotic arm enables the scientific instrument (APXS, Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer) at the end of the arm to extend, bend, and angle precisely against a rock or soil to analyze the elemental compositions of them. An illustration model of the rover is shown in Figure 1 below. The rover six wheels mount on a rocker –bogie suspension system that ensures wheels remain on the ground while driving over rough terrain. The design allows the rover to go over obstacles or through holes. Each wheel has cleats, providing grip for climbing in soft sand and scrambling over rocks. Each wheel also has its own motor. The two front and two rear wheels each have individual steering motors. This allows the vehicle to turn in place, a full revolution, and to swerve and curve, making arching turns. The rover is designed to withstand a tilt in some direction without overturning. The rover has auto control capability. The onboard software causes it to stop several steps to observe, understand the terrain into which it has driven, and plan its path.