To many people's surprise, Yutu "woke up" to a status capable of receiving signals -- although some control problems remain unresolved -- on Feb. 12. "Hi, anybody there?" the account asked, prompting over 60,000 reposts and 40,000 comments within hours.

Ye described Yutu as a character with a "delicate, human touch." "China's aerospace missions, led by the state, should let individuals and society feel more involved," he said.

Ye said the Yutu Weibo helped people to understand the work researchers and staff in the aerospace industry are doing.

"Some netizens said Yutu has shouldered too heavy a burden and asked not to increase it any more. This is very encouraging for those working on the space mission," said the scientist, who is also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body.

Meanwhile, Yutu is in its third planned dormancy, which began on Feb. 23. In this period, the temperature falls below minus 180 degrees Celsius on the lunar surface and the rover has to stay in a power-off mode.

The rover's radar, panorama camera and infrared imaging equipment can function normally, but the control circuit malfunction that has troubled it since January persists.

"Scientists are trying to 'treat' the moon rover," Ye said, who expects Yutu to "wake up" again after the hibernation.

"My masters are trying hard to find a solution," the Jade Rabbit Weibo said earlier in a posting. "They stay up all night and I have heard their eyes are becoming as red as mine."

Ye explained that scientists had to stay up every night in the last dormancy to work during limited time slots to fix the rover.

"We hope it can live on," Ye said. "Even if we had to work every night, we would be willing to."

Yutu touched down on the moon's surface on Dec. 15, a few hours after lunar probe Chang'e-3 landed. It was expected to stay on the moon for at least three months following the landing.