Before setting out in the lander for the moon in 1969, the US Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were told to watch out for "a big rabbit" from China, as according to a traditional Chinese legend Yutu, the Jade Rabbit, accompanies the goddess who lives on the moon.

Today the lunar bunny is once again attracting worldwide attention, as China's lunar rover is named after Yutu, who symbolizes mildness and goodwill in Chinese traditional culture, says an opinion piece in People's Daily.

From the Shenzhou series of spacecraft to the latest Chang'e 3 mission, named after the moon goddess, China continues to make progress on its journey into space. As space missions are seen as representing the apex of a country's technology, speculation and doubts about the purpose of China's moon missions will certainly appear, but they are never the dominant voices.