On this Saturday (22), the Chinese rover Zurong began its exploration mission Mars. He landed from the landing pad and touched the ground at around 10:40 am (Beijing time) and is already moving around the surface of the planet.
According to China’s National Space Administration, the rover is expected to spend at least 90 Mars days mapping the region with its high-resolution cameras.
Now I am “truly” on the surface of Mars. UTC 2:40 on 22 May, #Jhurong (# Tianwen 1) Landed on the surface of the red planet from a Mars rover lander. Here is the process captured by both front and rear cameras. The first batch of scientific data will be received later this month. pic.twitter.com/DfCvAvLmSW
– Chinese Zurong Mars Rover (@MarsZhurong) May 22, 2021
It is powered by solar energy and has high resolution cameras. From where it is located, in Utopia Planitia, the zurong should start looking for signs of snow and monitor the weather. The mission should also analyze the chemical composition, mineralogy and type of rock apart from other physical features of the surface.
More photos from Mars
China is the second country to land a rover on the red planet. Currently, in addition to Zurong, NASA has Curiosity and Persistence Rovers on Mars, which explore different areas of the planet. You landed Not last saturday (15) and first images They have been sent.
The rover Zurong began its search on Mars.
Photographs released by the Chinese Space Agency show the rover descending the ramp of its landing module and touching the surface of Mars. He was sent to the planet aboard a spacecraft in July 2020. Tianwen-1 And the weight is about 240 kg.
