What happens to Zhurong, the rover launched by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Mars in May 2021? China has not communicated on the craft since May 2022. And according to NASA, the robot... has not moved for several months, Numerama tells us.

On Twitter Tuesday, the US space agency said that MRO/HiRISE, its Mars probe equipped with a high-resolution camera, "has imaged it several times to track its progress and monitor surface changes." As a result, the Chinese rover has not moved for a long time, according to images taken at an altitude of 286 km.


HiPOD: Monitoring the Zhurong Rover The Chinese Zhurong rover

has been on Mars since 14 May 2021, and MRO/HiRISE has imaged it several times to track its progress and monitor the surface for changes.

For full cutout: https://t.co/WKCpyrbqI9

NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona#Mars pic.twitter.com/EzER3I5Q4Y

— HiRISE: Beautiful Mars (NASA) (@HiRISE) February 21, 2023

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No movement between September and February

NASA released three images taken last year and this year. "The series shows that the rover did not change its position between September 8, 2022 and February 7, 2023," the University of Arizona said in a statement. By zooming in on the last image, we can see that the bluish dot that corresponds to the rover seems to be covered with dust.

However, it is difficult to say that Zhurong is out of order. But the shots brought by NASA, as well as the silence of its Chinese counterpart the CNSA, are disturbing. However, Zhurong's mission came to an end. The rover even ran longer than expected. During its journey, the craft was able to discover the presence of an ancient Martian lake.

  • Sciences
  • March
  • Nasa
  • China
  • Space
  • Astronomy