The Chinese Mars rover Zhurong has made contact with the ground on Mars after successfully driving off the lander. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced this on Saturday. In the night from Friday to Saturday, the Mars rover hit the ground of the red planet.
The spacecraft landed on Mars a week ago, but has since been on a lander, which it had yet to drive off. He did this via two rails attached to the lander. In the meantime, tests were conducted to determine whether the Mars rover is in good working order.
Zhurong is now starting his explorations on Mars. He is equipped with various instruments with which he will conduct research into, among other things, the soil and the atmosphere of Mars. The cart also searches for possible traces of life on the planet. The rover is located in the Utopia Planitia area, which may have once contained an ocean.
The Chinese space agency estimates that the rover will be able to operate for about 90 days. During that time, he sends his findings back to Earth. A few days ago, Zhurong sent his first photos from Mars to Earth. This shows the front and back of the device.
China has big space plans for the coming years. The country also wants to put people on the moon. In 2019, the country was the first to land a spacecraft on the little-explored far side of the moon. In December, the country returned moon rocks to Earth for the first time since the 1970s.