This Saturday (22), the Chinese rover Zhurong started its exploration mission in Mars. He descended from the landing pad and touched the ground at about 10:40 am (Beijing time) and is already moving around the planet’s surface.
According to the National Space Administration of China, the rover is expected to spend at least 90 Martian days mapping the region with its high-resolution cameras.
Now I’m “literally” on Mars surface. At UTC 2:40, May 22, #Zhurong (#Tianwen1) Mars Rover drove down to the surface of the red planet from the lander. Here’s the the process captured by both front and rear cameras. First batch of scientific data will be obtained later this month. pic.twitter.com/DfCvAvLmSW
— Chinese Zhurong Mars Rover (@MarsZhurong) May 22, 2021
It is powered by solar energy and has high resolution cameras. From where it is positioned, in Utopia Planitia, Zhurong should start looking for signs of ice and monitor the climate. The mission should also analyze the chemical composition, minerals and types of rock, in addition to other physical characteristics of the surface.
More images from Mars
China is the second country to land a rover on the Red Planet. Currently, in addition to the Zhurong, there are NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers on Mars, which explore different regions of the planet. Your landing happened not last saturday (15) and the first images they’ve been sent.
Rover Zhurong begins its exploration on Mars.
Photos released by the Chinese space agency show the rover descending the ramp of its landing module and touching the Martian surface. He was sent to the planet in July 2020 on board the spacecraft Tianwen-1 and weighs about 240 kg.
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