China reveals new images of the surface of Mars

The China National Space Administration said the new images of the so-called Utopia Plain on Mars were taken this week by China’s Tianwen-1 rover and Zurong rover. A Chinese robotics mission landed on the neighboring planet on May 14.

“During the final phase of the descent, the spacecraft did so in a similar way to how the Vikings landed in 1976, the Phoenix in 2008, and the Insight in 2018 (from NASA), that is, using landing rockets or retrofuel until reaching the surface.”, The Astronomy Society of the Caribbean (SAC) explained.

The educational entity explained that in one of the images a white object is observed at a distance next to an object, and explained that it was the parachute and upper shield that the ship separated from during part of the landing.

The motorized trolley Or “rover” Zhurong solar is somewhat similar to Spirit and Opportunity. This carries several cameras as well as a spectrometer and radar to analyze the interior of the Earth, among some of its instruments.

The spacecraft was launched from China on July 23, 2020 and landed in an area between the places where Perseverance, Viking-2 and Insight landed.

China became the second country to successfully land and operate on Mars in addition to the United States, as the attempts of the then Soviet Union were unsuccessful or partially successful.

There are now three (3) active rovers on the neighboring planet, with Zhurong joining NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance spacecraft.