China has found the answer for the strange "hut" that its Yutu 2 rover sighted on the moon in December. As the lunar rover approached, a log of its operations indicated the object was actually just a rock on a crater rim.

According to the blog Our Space, which is linked with the China National Space Administration, the object is around 80 meters (262 feet) away and the rover is ready to move toward it. The blog mentioned reaching the cube would take two to three months.

The rover is close enough to see that the mysterious "hut" is only a rock after several weeks of preparations and driving. Perspective, light, and shadow combined to create a sharp-lined geometric effect on the horizon.

Our Space uploaded the rover's latest photo of its objective in an updated post.

The boulder is fashioned like a rabbit, with smaller rocks in front of it that resemble carrots, according to one of the rover's ground controllers in the blog. Yutu, the rover's name, translates to "Jade Rabbit," which is also the name of the rock.

The discovery comes as the rover approaches 1,000 meters of driving distance, a significant milestone before the rover's three-year anniversary of landing on the far side of the moon in 2019. China successfully landed Yutu 2 as part of its uncrewed Chang'e 4 mission.

According to Our Space, Yutu 2 came upon the object while driving across the Von Kármán crater on the 36th lunar day of the mission. The rover returned images of the object on the horizon, raising speculation on social media about what it could be, with some speculating it could be an alien base.

This demonstrates how little we know about the surfaces of astronomical objects. NASA frequently finds unusual formations on Mars' surface, but when a rover comes close, we always find it's simply another strange rock.

Who can forget the reported "face" on Mars, which was later revealed to be a simple optical illusion when better imaging technology was used? Despite their natural origins, certain rocks can nonetheless be of significant scientific relevance

While some may have found the rock's results disappointing, it is all part of China's fast-expanding space program. When China sent a three-person crew onboard its own space station in October, the goal was to create a new record for Chinese astronauts spending six months in space.

China had also successfully landed a solar-powered rover on Mars earlier this year.