NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter noticed the Chinese Zhurong rover on the planet’s surface. A high-quality HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera helped to examine a tiny rover on the surface of Mars. The photo was taken on March 11, 2022, but published by the aerospace administration only the other day.
MRO is located at an altitude of 288 km above the surface of Mars, HiRISE managed to record approximately 1.5 km of Zhurong traces left on the planet. The rover has been moving to the south since its landing in May 2021.
The photo shows the descent platform from which the rover began its movement immediately after landing. Just to the south, a parachute and a defense grid are noticeable, they slowed down the descent of the rover and protected it from ultra-high temperatures while performing atmospheric braking.
Zhurong is a part of China’s Tianwen 1 mission, which also includes an orbiter. Last month, this orbiter marked the full (terrestrial) year of the orbit around the Red planet. The rover remained attached to the orbiter for several months before separating for landing in May 2021.
Earlier, a large stone got in the wheel of the Perseverance rover.
