Zhurong (rover)

Zhurong
祝融
Part of Tianwen-1
Zhurong selfie with lander, taken by the deployable Tianwen-1 remote camera.
TypeMars rover
EponymZhurong
OwnerCNSA
ManufacturerChina Academy of Space Technology
Specifications
Dimensions2.6 m × 3 m × 1.85 m
(8 ft 6 in × 9 ft 10 in × 6 ft 1 in)
Launch mass240 kilograms (530 lb)
PowerSolar arrays
RocketLong March 5
Instruments
  • MarSCoDe
  • MCS
  • MSCam
  • NaTeCam
  • RoMAG
  • RoPeR
History
Launched
  • 23 July 2020, 23:18 UTC (2020-07-23UTC23:18)
  • from Wenchang LC-101
Deployed
  • 22 May 2021, 02:40 UTC (2021-05-22UTC02:40)
  • from Tianwen-1 lander
Location25°06′07″N 109°54′50″E / 25.102°N 109.914°E / 25.102; 109.914 (Zhurong rover)[1]
Utopia Planitia, Mars
Travelled1.921 km (1.194 mi) on Mars as of 5 May 2022[2]

Zhurong (Chinese: 祝融; pinyin: Zhùróng) is a Chinese rover on Mars, the country's first to land on another planet after it previously landed two rovers on the Moon. The rover is part of the Tianwen-1 mission to Mars conducted by the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The spacecraft was launched on 23 July 2020 and inserted into Martian orbit on 10 February 2021. The lander, carrying the rover, performed a soft-landing on Mars on 14 May 2021,[3] making China the third country to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on Mars and the second one to deploy a rover on Mars, after the United States.[4][N 1] Zhurong was deployed on 22 May 2021, 02:40 UTC.[6]

Designed for a lifespan of 90 sols (93 Earth days),[7] Zhurong was active for more than 347 sols (358 days) after its deployment on Mars's surface.[8][9] The rover became inactive on 20 May 2022 due to approaching sandstorms and Martian winter, pending its self-awakening with appropriate temperature and sunlight conditions.[10][11]

Zhurong was expected to wake up in December 2022[12] but never did due to excessive dust accumulation, according to the rover's chief designer.[13]

  1. ^ "Tianwen-1 Lander and Zhurong Rover in Southern Utopia Planitia (ESP_069665_2055)". hirise.lpl.arizona.edu. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  2. ^ ""祝融号"火星车准备越冬 环绕器持续开展环绕探测" (in Simplified Chinese). 人民网. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  3. ^ Myers, Steven Lee; Chang, Kenneth (14 May 2021). "China's Mars Rover Mission Lands on the Red Planet". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  4. ^ Fitzsimons, Tim (15 May 2021). "China becomes only second nation in history to land a rover on Mars". NBC News.
  5. ^ Balint, Tibor. "Summary of Russian Planetary Lander Missions" (PDF). NASA-JPL.
  6. ^ Zhao, Lei (22 May 2021). "China's Zhurong rover moves onto Martian surface to begin scientific operations". China Daily. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  7. ^ Jones, Andrew (30 July 2021). "China's Zhurong Mars rover scopes out dunes on journey south". Space.com.
  8. ^ "China breaks silence over status of Mars rover Zhurong". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference zhurong_2205 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference nature_230120 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference vice_2303 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference scmp_2301 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ "China finally admits its hibernating Mars rover may never wake up". Live Science. 27 April 2023.


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