An artist’s impression of the Chinese “Zhurong” rover setting off to explore the planet Mars. – / AP / SIPA
The Chinese unmanned robot “Zhurong” left its Mars landing platform on Saturday, a week after its arrival, to begin exploring the surface of the red planet, the official China news agency reported. The sending of this robot to Mars is a first for the Asian country, which has become the second in the world to succeed in such an operation after the United States.
China had launched in July 2020 from Earth its uninhabited mission “Tianwen-1”, named after the probe sent into space and composed of an orbiter (which revolves around Mars) and a lander with “Zhurong On board which landed last Saturday in an area of the red planet called “Utopia Planitia”, a vast plain in the northern hemisphere of Mars.
First photos sent
Weighing around 240 kg, “Zhurong” – named after the fire god of Chinese mythology – sent his first photos on Wednesday. He must also conduct analyzes of the soil, the atmosphere and map the red planet. “Zhurong” is equipped with solar panels for its electricity supply and is supposed to be operational for three months.
The rover is also equipped with cameras, radar and lasers which will allow it in particular to study its environment and analyze the composition of Martian rocks. The mission to Mars must also look for possible signs of past life.
By managing to land its robot on Mars, China, which is investing billions of euros in its space program in order to catch up with Europe, Russia and the United States, testifies to its increasingly strong space ambitions. It sent its first astronaut into space in 2003 and launches satellites for itself or on behalf of other countries. In 2019, she landed a device on the far side of the moon – a world first. Last year, samples were brought back to Earth.