(NASA / JPL-Caltech / UArizona https://bit.ly/3XRHX02)
The MRO NASA Martian Orbiter team has released a new image from China's Zhurong rover, which has confirmed that the rover hasn't awakened from hibernation for months.
Maybe the rover can activate later, when it gets warmer or when the wind cleans up its solar panels.
Zhurong landed in the Utopia Plain on Mars in May 2021, becoming China's first rover.
The Tianwen-1 orbiter is used as a repeater for communication with the Earth, which delivered the rover to the planet.
Zhurong is studying the surface of Mars, its atmosphere and the near-surface layer using four scientific instruments as part of an expanded scientific program.
The rover has already driven around the planet almost two kilometers.
THEN WINTER CAME
In May 2022, the solar-powered rover went into sleep mode for half a year due to the arrival of winter.
Zhurong was expected to wake up in December 2022, during the spring equinox.
During that time the temperature warms up to -15 degrees Celsius, and solar panels begin to produce more than 140 watts of energy.
However, China has not reported yet that the rover has come out of hibernation.
The rover was observed several times by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), which last photographed it with the HiRISE camera on February 7, 2023.
Then, the team compared the new image with a similar image taken on September 8, 2022.
The scientists concluded that the rover did not make any movements in 5 months, but only became more covered with dust.
While there was no talk of completing the Zhurong operation, it is possible that the rover will become active again with the onset of a warmer period.
Also, the Chinese rover can wake up when the wind clears dust from its solar panels.
Sources:
- University Arizona: https://www.uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_077511_2055
- Space News: https://spacenews.com/nasa-mars-orbiter-reveals-chinas-zhurong-rover-has-not-moved-for-months/
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