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The rover Zhurong, named after the god of fire in Chinese mythology, landed in the Utopia Planitia region of Mars on May 15. This is China’s first mission to Mars – making it the second country to land a craft on the planet, after the USA.
The rover sent its first images of Mars back in May, several days after its descent, showing the diffuse slope and flat landscape that it reached, and new images Friday included, a 360-degree panorama of the landing area, grouped together from a number. From the photos taken by the craft after it descended before it began to drive in the area, according to the state news agency Xinhua. Another image showed the orange surface of Mars, with scattered boulders, a circular crater on the far side, and sand dunes in the distance.
The third picture shows the Chinese flag near the landing platform. The rover also took a selfie using a wireless camera, showing its stretched solar panels and a small Chinese flag emblazoned on its devices.
The six-wheeled solar-powered rover is set to last three months, during which it will search for signs or evidence of ancient life on Mars. While the probe is exploring the planet, the orbiter also makes scientific detections.
“China will publish relevant scientific data in time to allow humanity to share in the fruits of the development of space exploration in the country,” Zhang Kejian, head of China’s National Space Agency, said in a Xinhua report.
China’s Mars mission has successfully entered the planet’s orbit and landed with a craft that can cross the surface of Mars in one go. It took NASA several missions to complete those difficult steps, albeit decades earlier than China, between 1971 and 1997.
China launched its Tianwen-1 probe, carrying Zhurong and other equipment, last July along with two other international missions to Mars: NASA’s Perseverance Probe and the UAE’s Hope Probe.
All three missions were launched around the same time due to the alignment between Mars and Earth on the same side of the Sun, making a more efficient trip to the Red Planet.
While Zhurong is not as technologically advanced as the tenacity of NASA, which is currently roaming Mars, her presence sends a clear signal that Chinese space capabilities are catching up with those of the United States.
Chinese astronauts have long been excluded from the International Space Station – and one of the country’s ambitions is to build its own space station. In April, it took a step closer to that goal, successfully launching the first unit of the planned facility.
The core unit is currently the largest spacecraft developed by China. But the station will need to be assembled from several units launched at different times; The plant may be ready to be fully operational by the end of 2022, according to Chinese state media.
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