(NASA/JPL-Caltech/U. Arizona)
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) photographed the path of the Zhurong, China's first rover, which it did in almost a year of work on Mars.
The landing platform, as well as the back cover and parachute dropped during the landing on the Red Planet, got into the frame.
Zhurong was delivered to Mars on May 14, 2021 as part of the Tianwen-1 program.
The rover is equipped with cameras, ground penetrating radar, a spectrometer and weather sensors, and it is powered by solar panels.
The rover maintains contact with the Earth with the help of an orbiter and a landing platform that brought the rover to the planet.
At the moment, Zhurong has completed the main part of the scientific program, which lasted 90 sols (Martian days), after which its work was extended indefinitely.
The rover continues to explore the surface of Mars and has traveled more than 1.5 kilometers, and scientists recently published the first results of its work.
On March 11, 2022, the MRO, using the HiRISE high-resolution onboard camera (at an altitude of 288 kilometers), took a picture of the Utopia Plain area where Zhurong operates.
In the upper part of the image, the landing platform is visible, around which traces from the brake engines during the landing of the platform on Mars are visible.
In the middle of the image, you can see the parachute dropped during landing and the rear cover of the landing system, which the Zhuzhong had previously visited.
At the bottom of the image is the rover itself, from which traces stretch from the wheels to the landing platform.
Numerous white thin structures in the photo are sand dunes.
Source:
- University of Arizona: https://www.uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_073225_2055
- Space: https://www.space.com/china-zhurong-mars-rover-tracks-mro-photo