China successfully sets its Zhurong rover down at Utopia Planitia on Mars
China had made history by being the first country to orbit, land, and release a rover on Mars in its first mission.
When China’s Zhurong rover safely landed on the surface of Mars on Friday, it became a member of an exclusive space club.
China had made history by being the first country to orbit, land, and release a rover on Mars in its first mission.
The Tianwen-1 spacecraft had previously landed on a wide plain known as Utopia Planitia.
Zhurong, the 240-kilogram solar-powered rover, is named after the Chinese god of fire. Six scientific instruments, including a high-resolution topographical camera, are included.
Only the spacecraft of the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration have explored the surface of Mars thus far.
The landing comes after China launched the main module of a new orbiting space station last month, as well as a successful mission in December that retrieved roughly four pounds of moon rocks and soil and returned them to Earth.
The Zhurong rover will explore the planet’s surface dirt and atmosphere throughout its 90-day mission. It will also use ground-penetrating radar to seek for indications of ancient life, such as subsurface water and ice.
On Martian soil, the Zhurong rover has six wheels and four solar panels and can travel 200 meters per hour. Zhurong is the sixth rover to land on the Red Planet. It has five predecessors, all of whom were American.
China plans to launch three people into space next month, signaling a regular Chinese presence in Earth’s orbit.
