Wednesday, August 4

China's Zhurong Mars Rover

China's Zhurong rover has quietly clocked up 1,900 feet (585 meters) of driving on Mars and has been using its science instruments to check out nearby geologic features in Utopia Planitia.

Zhurong's latest exploits have seen it analyze dunes amid the local rocky Martian terrain and visit the backshell and parachute that helped the rover land safely on the Red Planet.

A new release by the China National Space Administration on July 23, also marking the first anniversary of the launch of China's Tianwen-1 Mars mission, showed Zhurong had visited a second wind-formed sand dune.

The rover used its surface composition detectors, multi-spectral cameras and other science payloads to analyze the formation, according to the update.

Zhurong landed on Mars in May and rolled onto the surface a week later, making China just the second country after the United States to land and operate a rover on Mars. The rover's first feat was driving away from the lander, dropping a small, remote camera, and returning to pose with the lander for an epic selfie.

Later updates have included remarkable roving footage as well as sounds captured by the rover's climate station.

The solar-powered rover has since been making its way south of the landing site. The CNSA released a map showing Zhurong's travels up to July 21 and covering 66 Mars days, or sols. Both Zhurong's parent orbiter, Tianwen-1, and NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have also been monitoring the journey.

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