China updates on Mars rover status after months of silence
%2Favatars%2FmiPaTnXVs8LI.png&w=96&q=75)
%2F2023%2F04%2F25%2Fimage%2Fjpeg%2FlPdIz5mv0UnDa62A3bsBxqKOqAxV7lcrUjVjEfpx.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
China's ambitious Zhurong Mars rover has been silent and still since May 2022.
Recently, Zhang Rongqiao, chief designer of the Mars mission, addressed China's state television and provided an update on the rover's status. For months, mission experts have remained silent on the rover's status.
According to reports, excessive dust and sand accumulation on the solar panels caused power generation to fail. And eventually, the rover may have met an unfortunate fate on an alien world and be unable to operate again.
"We have not had any communication from the rover since it entered hibernation. "We are monitoring it every day and believe it has not woken up because the sunlight has not yet reached the minimum level for power generation," said Zhang, as reported by CGTN.
The long journey comes to an end
The rover remained in hibernation for longer than expected. Even NASA’s orbiting probe could not detect any sort of rover movement since September 2022.
On May 18, 2022, it entered the planned hibernation state to brave the freezing conditions on Mars. In winter, temperatures can drop to minus 195 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 125 degrees Celsius) on Mars.
However, it was designed in such a way that it could resume functioning autonomously when temperatures began to rise again in December 2022. This is the northern spring equinox on Mars when the temperature rises slightly, and there is enough sunlight for the rover to generate power.
The rover automatically wakes up when two conditions are met: when it generates more than 140 watts of energy and when temperatures rise to 5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 15 degrees Celsius).
Furthermore, it was designed with the ability to shake off dust using vibration settings. However, even this feature necessitates some solar power. The deadly dust storms piled up on the solar panels, impeding their ability to generate power.
Despite this, the rover exceeded its set mission period of three months. It explored the red planet for over 358 days and traveled nearly 1,921 meters (2,100 yards).
Tianwen 1, China's ambitious Mars mission and the country's first interplanetary mission, included Zhurong. In May 2021, the rover landed on the Utopian Planitia on Mars.
The Zhurong rover, named after a mythical Chinese god of fire, weighed around 240 kg (530 pounds) and was equipped with six science instruments and a high-resolution topography camera. The mission's objective was to examine the planet's surface, soil, and atmosphere. Zhurong also looked for signs of life, subsurface water, and ice on the Martian soil.
Currently, NASA's Perseverance and Curiosity rovers are exploring the Martian surface.
SHOW COMMENT (1)
/2022/10/24/image/jpeg/1E5j5QGnoLryMyqPpC58ODehj10fVnAeLhwsoIHr.jpg "UK rocket startup is on a mission to make satellite launches sustainable")
/2023/05/27/image/jpeg/hUmy6fVQvimxfN8HBZ2IjrGKW1f8AVmrkTi3wPtJ.jpg "Stanford professor says he is 100% sure that aliens are already on Earth")
/2023/06/07/image/jpeg/a26g5czwbmM676TAlvhpmVS5W71Gi9vkz4LO0yMA.jpg "New 621-mile range EV battery charges in six minutes and works in any weather")
/2023/05/28/image/jpeg/X1sB2puBpxN1VWCWMDkaa7Uwd2FUAdOP6AxTp8T8.jpg "NGAD: The chosen one - US Air Force commits to sole 6th-generation fighter")
/2023/05/31/image/jpeg/cBPsRNE1Kc9USJTb6RvLg98fqY30HyEbhqfnvWg8.jpg "Advancing fusion energy: Researchers achieve record-breaking temperatures in a tokamak")
/2022/10/05/image/png/013EcGCWI3cYnSdDatl35aUJYUrvpKKbqY160Fiz.png "Lego-like recycling will transform how we use these future plastics")
/2023/05/17/image/jpeg/1reHwvxDY6DMApUSViyGaPQpBIOPQ0X83OcETU8g.jpg "Laser tech cracks code of 'Rosetta Stone' fossils, yielding fresh early life clues")
/2022/08/26/image/jpeg/1nxxLkFmhbro3YYyNqzVTxNcbPNdgcyfD3G3Ser7.jpg "Artemis I: Space experts tell us why NASA's mission will make history")
/2023/05/29/image/jpeg/g3qXfk06EeaB5lJxE9bC2rn05nVZniR0idtdl208.jpg "Windows XP activation algorithm is defeated after 21 years")
/2022/08/09/image/jpeg/F9x4UW78rTQX2Uuz4MM7cQUQkzxidXL5wZawfSCd.jpg "Exploring emotions, the brain, and free will with Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett")