BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) China first Mars rover, Zhurong, drove down from its landing platform to the Martian surface Saturday, leaving the country first foo
China s first Mars rover steps out to explore red planet
China s Tianwen-1 mission, consisting of an orbiter, a lander and a rover, was launched on July 23, 2020.
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In this artist s rendering made available by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Saturday, May 22, 2021, China s Zhurong rover is depicted on the surface of Mars. (Photo | AP) By PTI
BEIJING: China s first Mars rover on Saturday drove down from its landing platform to the Martian surface to start exploring the surface of the red planet.
The six-wheeled solar-powered rover named Zhurong, resembling a blue butterfly and with a mass of 240 kg, slowly trundled off a ramp on the lander to hit the red, sandy soil of Mars, starting its journey to explore the fourth planet from the Sun, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.
Xinhua Headlines: China s first Mars rover starts exploring red planet
22 May 2021, 21:55 GMT+10 China s first Mars rover, Zhurong, drove down from its landing platform to the Martian surface Saturday, leaving the country s first footprints on the red planet. With an expected lifespan of at least 90 Martian days (about three months on Earth), Zhurong will record the Martian landscape with high-resolution three-dimensional images, analyze the material composition of the planet s surface, detect its sub-surface structure and magnetic field, search for traces of water ice and observe the surrounding meteorological environment. It is the first Mars rover with an active suspension system. It could help the rover get out of trouble by moving like an inchworm on the complicated Martian surface with both loose sandy soil and densely distributed rocks.
BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua): China s first Mars rover, Zhurong, drove down from its landing platform to the Martian surface on Saturday, leaving the country s first footprints on the red planet.
Zhurong s first successful drive made China the second country after the United States to land and operate a rover on Mars.
The six-wheeled solar-powered rover, resembling a blue butterfly and with a mass of 240 kg, slowly trundled off a ramp on the lander to hit the red, sandy soil of Mars, starting its journey to explore the fourth planet from the sun.
According to the telemetry data, Zhurong set its wheels on Martian soil at 10:40 a.m. (Beijing Time) on Saturday, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.