On May 15 , the Chinese National Space Administration ( CNSA ) landed itsZhurong roverin Utopia Planitia , becoming the 2d country to successfully land a rover on Mars . After a few cliff-hanging day waiting for theTianwen-1 orbiterto be in a post to send data substantiate all is well , the scouter has institutionalize back its first images of the open of Mars .
These are thefirst imagestaken by a non - NASA commission from the surface of the Red Planet ; hopefully , the showtime of plentifulness more to come from this bird of passage . CNSA also share some awesome gifs of the detachment between Tianwen-1 and the lander module .
Lander interval from orbiter : pic.twitter.com / bWGVhvdnNn
The six - wheeled fomite , named after a Formosan immortal of fire , is still on its lander as the squad investigates the skirt terrain . It will soon move down a piddling Allium tricoccum and onto the Martian terrain to set about its deputation in full . rumour presently indicate May 22 as the beginning of operation , but there is no official confirmation yet .
Zhurong is equipped with camera , spectrometers , a weather station , a magnetic theater of operations sensor , and even a ground - fathom radar . This twist will allow scientists to visualize about 100 meters ( 330 feet ) below the surface of Mars .
The rover is expect to operate for 90 sols – one colloidal solution is a Martian daytime – corresponding to 92 mean solar day on Earth . This target might be exceed , like in the case of several NASA rovers as well as the CNSA Moon rovers Yutu andYutu-2 , which far exceed their three - month - titular missionary post .
And if you ’re queer whether there will be any competition between the two Earth commonwealth that currently inhabit the Red Planet , NASA Administrator Sen. Bill Nelson emerge a financial statement on behalf of the US outer space agency following the release of the exposure .
“ Congratulations to the China National Space Administration on receiving the first images from the Zhurong Mars rover ! ” Nelsonsaid . “ As the external scientific community of robotic Explorer on Mars produce , the United States and the world bet onward to the discovery Zhurong will make to advance manhood ’s knowledge of the Red Planet . I look forrad to succeeding international discoveries , which will help oneself inform and develop the capabilities needed to land human boots on Mars . ”
