SAEDNEWS: Chinese Mars rover that arrived on Mars in 2020 sends new images from its mission back to Earth
According to China Daily and reported by Saednews, China’s National Space Administration (CNSA) released four new images captured by its Tianwen-1 Mars mission on Saturday. The set includes the first complete image of the mission’s orbiter. The color images show the spacecraft orbiting the Red Planet, polar ice coverage at Mars’ north pole, and parts of a barren Martian plain.
The Tianwen-1 robotic probe was launched in July 2020 from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan Province. It has traveled a total of 475 million kilometers so far and performed several trajectory correction maneuvers before entering Mars orbit on February 10.
After more than three months of preparation, the orbiter was inserted into Mars’ atmosphere through a complex process and successfully landed on the Red Planet on May 15, making China the second country after the United States to reach Mars.
On May 22, the Chinese Mars rover Zhurong began exploring the Martian surface, becoming the sixth Mars rover in history.
As of Saturday morning, Zhurong—standing 1.85 meters tall and weighing 240 kilograms—has operated for 224 Martian days, significantly exceeding its planned three-month mission duration. It has traveled more than 1,400 meters across the surface. The CNSA stated that the Tianwen-1 mission has collected and transmitted nearly 540 gigabytes of scientific data, and added that the rover remains in good condition with sufficient power.
