Photo: CNSA
On May 15th, China wrote history as it became the second country after the U.S. to land on the surface of Mars. Soon after, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) released two photos taken by its Zhurong rover of the Utopia Planitia region. Now, the agency has published video footage of the landing and sounds made by the rover on the Red Planet.
Named after the God of Fire in ancient Chinese mythology, the rover is part of the Tianwen-1 mission led by the CNSA. The spacecraft was launched on July 23rd, 2020, and it entered Mars' orbit on February 10th this year.
Powered by four solar panels placed on its sides, the rover carries six scientific instruments that help it study the planet's topography and geology, examine the soil, look for ice content, examine minerals and rocks, and realize atmospheric sampling.
Now, after a bit more than a month after Zhurong safely left the platform and started its exploration on Mars, the CNSA released a series of shots of the landing, including video footage of the parachute deployment process and the sounds made by the rover when leaving the landing platform.
The obstacle avoidance cameras captured the moment when Zhurong left the ramp and touched the surface of Mars. The Mars Climate Station (MCS) recorded the sound during the rovers' deployment. The audio includes noise during the process of turning on the driving mechanism of the rover, driving on the ramp, and driving onto the surface of Mars.
According to CNSA, to date, Zhurong has been on the surface of Mars for 42 martian days and has traveled a total of 236 meters (774 ft). Both the orbiter and the rover are healthy. The rover will continue to carry out scientific exploration as planned, while the orbiter will also provide communication for the rover.
Zhurong will take high-resolution 3D pictures of the Martian landscape and examine the planet's composition throughout the course of at least 90 Martian days (approximately three months on Earth). It will also identify its subsurface structure and magnetic field, look for ice and monitor the weather conditions on the Red Planet.
Powered by four solar panels placed on its sides, the rover carries six scientific instruments that help it study the planet's topography and geology, examine the soil, look for ice content, examine minerals and rocks, and realize atmospheric sampling.
Now, after a bit more than a month after Zhurong safely left the platform and started its exploration on Mars, the CNSA released a series of shots of the landing, including video footage of the parachute deployment process and the sounds made by the rover when leaving the landing platform.
The obstacle avoidance cameras captured the moment when Zhurong left the ramp and touched the surface of Mars. The Mars Climate Station (MCS) recorded the sound during the rovers' deployment. The audio includes noise during the process of turning on the driving mechanism of the rover, driving on the ramp, and driving onto the surface of Mars.
According to CNSA, to date, Zhurong has been on the surface of Mars for 42 martian days and has traveled a total of 236 meters (774 ft). Both the orbiter and the rover are healthy. The rover will continue to carry out scientific exploration as planned, while the orbiter will also provide communication for the rover.
Zhurong will take high-resolution 3D pictures of the Martian landscape and examine the planet's composition throughout the course of at least 90 Martian days (approximately three months on Earth). It will also identify its subsurface structure and magnetic field, look for ice and monitor the weather conditions on the Red Planet.
[CNSA video 3/4] Video of #Zhurong Mars rover moving backwards. pic.twitter.com/uTcCHud03b
— CNSA Watcher (@CNSAWatcher) June 27, 2021
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