On Sunday , China became the 2d country to successfullyland a mission on Mars . The Zhurong wanderer , now comfortably sitting just above the cold knit of Utopia Planitia , has sent back its first epitome of the Martian landscape painting .
The mental image , apportion in a newreleasefrom the China National Space Administration , are important because they will fix what the rover will set out to canvas . Unlike NASA ’s Perseverance , which is the fifth rover the agency has deployed on the Red Planet and has a clearly draft mission to look for fossilized microbic living , Zhurong has a idle schedule .
One image is calamitous and white and was taken by the obstruction dodging photographic camera on the rover ’s front . A ramp from the lander has extend to the Martian aerofoil , and the rover ’s wheel are just seeable at the bottom of the frame . It is , in total , a very “ welcome to Mars ” trope . The second image is in color — the rocky red soil is a intimate plenty for us late — was taken by the navigation tv camera on the back of the scouter . The solar panels on Zhurong come along to have unfurled without a hitch . The investigation also sentvideofootage from China ’s artificial satellite , which shows the lander and rover ’s detachment from the satellite during landing .

One image shows the disembarkation ramp the rover will use to reach the Martian surface from the lander.Image:CNSA
In a assertion on Wednesday , NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said : “ felicitation to the China National Space Administration on receiving the first images from the Zhurong Mars rover ! As the external scientific community of robotlike explorers on Mars develop , the United States and the domain look forward to the discoveries Zhurong will make to win humanity ’s knowledge of the Red Planet . I look forward to next international discovery , which will help inform and develop the capabilities needed to shoot down human boots on Mars . ”
The Chinese bird of passage is over 1,000 mile from NASA ’s Perseverance , and give the highly localize nature of rover missions , they wo n’t ever meet . While Perseverance will scour a dry - up river delta in Jezero Crater , Zhurong ’s surround in Utopia Planitia is mostly plain . There are a couple feature there of particular interestingness to researcher . Some of those include gumption dune - comparable structures , evidence of Martian frosts , and a cone-shaped characteristic seen in planet images from Mars satellite , which could be an ancient lava or mud vent , Naturereported . If a clay vent , it could help excuse why so much methane is in the Martian ambience .
Zhurong ’s mission is correct to course for just over 90 days , so there ’s a mickle to pack into that time . With the Perseverance and Curiosity rover and the InSight lander also work on Mars , we can look forth to a wealth of news from the Red Planet in the do months .

Zhurong’s solar panels have unfolded, as the second image from the rover reveals.Image:CNSA
More : Unreal television of Perseverance Landing on Mars Will Take Your Breath off
Exploration of MarsMarsMars roversSpaceflight
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