The Chinese spacecraft Zhurong has sent the first photos from Mars to Earth, the Chinese space agency CNSA announced on Wednesday. The Mars rover landed on the planet Saturday night local time.
The black and white photo shows what the front of the Mars rover sees. Zhurong is still on the lander that landed him on the planet. The photo shows rails on which the vehicle will travel to the surface of Mars. The horizon is overly curved due to the camera’s wide-angle lens. The color image shows the back of the rover, along with the reddish-brown top layer of Mars.
Zhurong will drive off the lander on Friday. The device is equipped with all kinds of instruments to conduct research into the topography, soil and 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.
According to the CNSA, the landing of the lander and rover on Mars went well. The solar panels, which provide the Mars rover with energy, have also been “folded out without any problems”.
China is the third country to launch a Mars rover after the United States and Russia. NASA’s Mars rover is also currently conducting research in the area where Zhurong landed, albeit at a distance of more than 1,800 kilometers. Russia landed on Mars in 1971, where it made contact with Earth for 14 seconds, and then remained silent forever.
China’s Mars rover was launched last year and arrived at Mars last February. Zhurong is likely to remain active for about 90 days.