Chinas rover travels over 1 km on Mars

Photo/Xinhua (provided by CNSA)

Chinas Tianwen-1 mission, consisting of an orbiter, lander, and rover, was launched on July 23, 2022.

Chinas Mars rover Zhurong had traveled more than 1,000 meters on the suce of the red planet as of Monday, the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.

The CNSA added that the rover will continue to move to the boundary zone between the ancient sea and land in the southern part of Utopia Planitia to carry out tasks.

As of Aug. 15, 2021, Zhurong had accomplished planned exploration and detection tasks.

Starting its exploration, Zhurong drove down from its landing platform to the Martian suce on May 22.

The lander, carrying the rover with an expected lifespan of at least 90 Martian days or about three months on Earth, touched down on May 15 in the southern part of Utopia Planitia, a vast plain in the northern hemisphere of Mars.