China broadcasts spacecraft pictures from moon's far side China has broadcast pictures taken by its rover and lander on the moon's far side

BEIJING -- China has broadcast pictures taken by its rover and lander on the moon's far side.

The pictures on state broadcaster CCTV on Friday show the Jade Rabbit 2 rover and the Chang'e 4 spacecraft that transported it on the first-ever soft landing on the side of the moon, which always faces away from Earth.

The pictures were transmitted by a relay satellite to a control center in Beijing. Space program officials said they mark a success for the mission in showing the rover moving away from its lander.

Researchers hope that low-frequency observations of the cosmos from the far side of the moon, where radio signals from Earth are blocked, will help scientists learn more about the early days of the solar system and birth of the universe's first stars.