China launches rideshare mission, develops new engine, and loses contact with Mars rover nasaspaceflight.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nasaspaceflight.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
China s Zhurong Mars rover remains silent despite being expected to wake up in December — but there s still hope that the vehicle could rise from its slumber.
Scientists from home and abroad have obtained a large amount of data recently by observing the solar influence on signals between China s first Mars probe Tianwen-1 and that of the European Space Agency (ESA) during a month-long Sun outage.
It s been a tough one for space agencies and private startups alike, with multiple launch failures, one of which wrecked its launchpad. China also lost its Zhurong rover to the bitter Martian winter. You d think it was Friday the 13th or something.
The Chinese Mars rover is still in hibernation, but was due to wake up in December. China's famed Mars rover, the Zhurong, is still in hibernation and did not wake up during its scheduled timeline last December.