China releases new footage from Zhurong Mars rover

By Zamira Rahim and Jessie Yeung, CNN

China’s National Space Administration (CNSA) has released new images of Mars from its landmark Tianwen-1 probe.

Tianwen-1, whose name means “quest for heavenly truth,” is made up of an orbiter, lander and a six-wheeled rover carrying scientific instruments.

It successfully entered Mars’ orbit in February, having spent seven months traveling through space after a July 2020 launch.

In May, the rover, Zhurong, drove off a landing platform and onto the surface of Mars — where it is patrolling and exploring as part of a three-month mission on the red planet.

That achievement made China only the second nation after the US to land and operate a rover on Mars.

“As of the morning of (June) 27th, the Tianwen-1 orbiter has been in orbit for 338 days,” the CNSA said in a press release on Sunday.

“The ‘Zhurong’ rover has been working on the surface of Mars for 42 Martian days and has traveled 236 meters in total. The orbiter and the rover are in good working condition,” the CNSA added.

“(They are) reporting safety from Mars to the Party and the motherland, sending distant blessings at the time of the (Communist Party of China) centennial.”

With Tianwen-1, China is the first nation to attempt sending both an orbiter and a rover on its first homegrown Mars mission.

NASA sent multiple orbiters to Mars before even attempting the far more difficult task of landing a rover.

This isn’t the first time China has released images from the rover — the country also unveiled images obtained during the mission earlier this month.

The CNSA hopes the mission will gather important information about Mars’ geological structure, atmosphere, environment and soil, and search for any signs of water.

China has an ambitious space sector and Tianwen-1 makes it the sixth country to reach Mars’ orbit.

The-CNN-Wire
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