Photo: CNSA
We've seen videos of and even heard the historic landing of the Chinese Zhurong rover on Mars, but now the China National Space Administration (CNSA) has released new images showing its rover finding its parachute and backshell assembly that helped it make a safe landing on the Red Planet.
As of June 15th, Zhurong has traveled 450 meters (1,476 ft) in total, exploring the dusty red plain Utopia Planitia. On its way to the south, the rover snapped some interesting pictures using its navigation camera. The images show its parachute and backshell, the protective cover that carries the parachute, and many components utilized during the later stages of entry, descent, and landing.
Captured from about 30 meters (98 ft) away, we can see the clear color view of the Martian terrain in the Utopia Planitia region and the dusty gear that is located around 350 meters (1,148 ft) south of the rover's landing platform.
Zhurong also took two black and white shots with its front and rear obstacle avoidance camera, one of which shows the rover on its way to the parachute and backshell, and the other showing the terrain covered by its own tracks.
The rover, named after the God of Fire in ancient Chinese mythology, is part of the CNSA-led Tianwen-1 project. The spacecraft was launched on July 23rd, last year, and entered Mars' orbit on February 10th, just a week before NASA's Perseverance rover performed a daring touchdown on the Red Planet.
According to CNSA, Zhurong has been on the surface of Mars for 60 Martian days and is in good condition. Over the span of at least 90 Martian days (the equivalent of three months on Earth), the rover will continue to conduct scientific research, which includes taking high-resolution 3D images of the Martian landscape and examine the planet's composition.
The mission's objectives are investigating the geology of the local area, searching for ice, and monitoring the planet's weather conditions.
Captured from about 30 meters (98 ft) away, we can see the clear color view of the Martian terrain in the Utopia Planitia region and the dusty gear that is located around 350 meters (1,148 ft) south of the rover's landing platform.
Zhurong also took two black and white shots with its front and rear obstacle avoidance camera, one of which shows the rover on its way to the parachute and backshell, and the other showing the terrain covered by its own tracks.
The rover, named after the God of Fire in ancient Chinese mythology, is part of the CNSA-led Tianwen-1 project. The spacecraft was launched on July 23rd, last year, and entered Mars' orbit on February 10th, just a week before NASA's Perseverance rover performed a daring touchdown on the Red Planet.
According to CNSA, Zhurong has been on the surface of Mars for 60 Martian days and is in good condition. Over the span of at least 90 Martian days (the equivalent of three months on Earth), the rover will continue to conduct scientific research, which includes taking high-resolution 3D images of the Martian landscape and examine the planet's composition.
The mission's objectives are investigating the geology of the local area, searching for ice, and monitoring the planet's weather conditions.
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