The Zhurong rover (in Portuguese “Deus do Fogo”) that arrived on Mars last Friday has already released the first photographs taken on the red planet. The National Space Administration of China made them public this Thursday and show the device in the area of Utopia Planitia, the plain that the rover will explore during this mission.
In the images, it is possible to see the rover, which has built-in cameras, perched on the reddish rocky soil and it is also possible to better understand the mechanics of the “God of fire”, which has solar panels and an antenna.
The National Space Administration of China also released two short videos, where it is possible to see the orbiter and the rover capsule separating.
The objective of this project is to collect samples of Martian soil to study the planet’s geology, assess the presence of water and study the atmosphere of Mars. The mission left Earth on July 23 last year, aboard a Long March 5 rocket, and reached Mars orbit on February 10.
China becomes the third country in the world to successfully land on Mars
