11-05-2021 | 15:08 PM
Zhurong: China’s first Mars rover
The Chinese government announced that its first Mars rover will be named Zhurong after a traditional fire god. This name fits with the Chinese name for Mars - “Huo Xing” or fire star.
About Zhurong
• Zhurong is China’s first Mars rover mission. The rover is aboard the Tianwen-1 space probe. The rover was launched in the Mars orbit Mission in February 2021 and is due to land in May.
• The rover is named after a traditional fire god. The rover’s title also fits with the Chinese name for Mars i.e. “Huo Xing” or fire star.
• Zhurong carries multispectral cameras and instruments to analyze the composition of the rocks. It will also investigate subsurface characteristics with ground-penetrating radar.
Tianwen-1 probe
• China is planning to land its Tianwen-1 Mars probe in Utopia Planitia, a rock-strewn plain on the red planet. This is the same landing site where the US lander Viking 2 touched down in 1976. China will become the third country after the US and the former Soviet Union to land a rover on Mars.
• China's Tianwen-1 probe aims to analyze and map the Martian surface and geology, looking for water ice and studying the climate and surface environment.
