SPACE — The Zhurong rover’s mission to the planet Mars has ended. Zhurong is a Chinese robot explorer that carries out a mission to investigate the Red Planet.
Even though the mission has ended, the probe is still sending data to Earth. The Zhurong rover begins in May 2021 and lasts 357 days (347 Martian sols).
Reporting from EarthSky, the rover explored its landing site in Utopia Planitia, the largest impact basin on Mars. In a new paper published on November 23, 2023, Chinese researchers said that Zhurong discovered irregular polygon-shaped slices.
These polygons are lumps made of sandy soil and Martian ice, with three or more straight sides. Zhurong used its radar to detect geometrically shaped blobs, which may be caused by freeze-thaw cycles on Mars.
Utopia Planitia is a historical site on Mars. This is where one of the first two Mars landers, the American Space Agency’s (NASA) Viking 2, first landed in 1976.
Polygons beneath the surface of Mars
Subsurface polygons are common on Mars. Polygons are also found on Earth. However, polygons have never been found in Utopia Planitia until now.
During his mission, Zhurong traveled approximately 1.2 km during his mission. Along its route, the rover uses its radar to study the planet’s subsurface. Zhurong discovered the polygon about 35 meters below the ground surface.
Overall, Zhurong detected 16 polygons in the distance it covered. This suggests that polygons were likely widespread throughout Utopia Planitia.
The Zhurong rover is part of the Tianwen-1 mission. Zhurong landed in the southern part of Utopia Planitia on May 15, 2021.
Its estimated lifetime is 90 sols (Mars days). The solar-powered rover has been hibernating during the harsh Martian winter, since May 2022. The mission team expected the rover to be able to operate again after that, but it turned out not to be possible.
China is now also planning to launch a sample return mission to Mars in 2028. Utopia Planitia may also be the target of this mission, but this has not been confirmed.
2023-12-03 23:15:00
#findings #Chinas #rover #carrying #mission #Mars #Space #Space
