BEIJING (Sputnik) – The Chinese Zhurong Mars rover has covered 808 meters (0.5 miles) on the Red Planet’s surface in nearly three months, China National Space Administration (CNSA) reported on Friday.
Zhurong was reported to have overcome a compound relief of the planet including dunes, rocky ground, and impact craters. The Mars rover’s planned operational lifetime is 90 sols, and all the systems are working properly so far, according to CNSA.
The Mars rover is a part of the Tianwen-1 spacecraft sent to Mars on 23 July 2020, from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on the Hainan Island, China. On 15 May 2021, Zhurong successfully landed on Mars.
The main goal of the space mission is to find possible signs of life on Mars and to help scientists understand if the conditions on the planet can alter in a way that it will become suitable for people in the future.
Tianwen-1 was designed to explore the atmosphere, relief, geological characteristics, magnet field of Mars which can be a key to resolving the mystery of the origin of the Red Planet and the whole Solar System.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
