China’s ambitious Tianwen 1 project, which also happens to be the country’s first interplanetary mission, celebrated its second anniversary on February 10. One voice, the Zhurong Mars rover from China, which was launched onto the surface of the red planet as part of Beijing’s Tianwen 1 mission, stayed mute amid the jubilation.
For several months, the Chinese rover has been ‘hibernating.’ It was meant to awaken in December of the previous year. But even now, over two months later, it is still sleeping.
A report from last month expressed optimism that Zhurong would awaken, but latest photographs from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal that it hasn’t moved for five months.
As per NASA, the rover hasn’t moved since September 2022. The space agency’s office at the University of Arizona which manages the HiRISE camera released a series of images, which show that Zhurong has not changed its position between September 8, 2022 and February 7, 2023.
As per Jia Yang, Tianwen 1 mission deputy chief designer, the rover would wake up when two conditions are met: it can generate energy greater than 140 watts and the planet’s temperature, or rather the region where the rover is, reaches the somewhat warmer, 5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 15 degrees Celsius).
Post Your Comments