Artist’s impression of the Chinese rover “Zhurong” as it sets off to explore Mars. – / AP / SIPA
The remote-controlled Chinese robot “Zhurong” left its landing platform on Saturday MarsAnd the official new China agency stated, a week after his arrival, to start exploring the surface of the Red Planet. The sending of this robot to Mars is the first of its kind for the Asian country, which has become the second in the world to succeed in such an operation yet
United States of America.
In July 2020, China launched its “Tianwen-1” unmanned mission from Earth, named after the probe that was sent into space and made up of an orbiter (orbiting Mars) and a lander with “Zhurong” on board. Landed last Saturday In a region of the Red Planet called “Utopia Planitia”, a vast plain in the northern hemisphere of Mars.
The first pictures were sent
Zorong, who weighed about 240 kg, sent his first pictures on Wednesday, bearing the name of the god of fire in Chinese mythology. He should also perform soil and atmosphere analyzes and mapping the red planet. “Zhurong” is equipped with solar panels to power it and it is supposed to work for three months.
The rover is also equipped with cameras, radar and lasers which will allow it in particular to study its environment and analyze the composition of Mars rocks. The mission to Mars should also search for potential signs of a past life.
By being able to land a robot on Mars, ChinaWhich is investing billions of euros in its space program to catch up with Europe, Russia and the United States, testifies to its increasingly powerful space ambitions. It sent its first astronaut into space in 2003 and launched satellites for itself or on behalf of other countries. In 2019, she landed on a machine
The dark side of the moon – A scientist first. Last year, the samples were brought back to Earth.
