Images captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) show China’s Zhurong rover remaining stationary on Mars from September 2022 to February 2023, possibly due to the effects of dust storms.
Zhurong Rover (green dot) in three images captured by NASA’s MRO from Mars orbit, taken in March 2022, September 2022, and February 2023. (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona).
Zhurong, the solar-powered rover from China, entered a dormant state in May 2022 due to dust storms and frigid conditions on Mars. Chinese scientists indicated in January that the rover should have recovered by now, but it has yet to send a signal back to Earth. New images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) show that Zhurong has not moved at least since early September 2022.
A team of experts at the University of Arizona, responsible for the HiRise camera on the MRO, released three images of Zhurong on February 21. In the images, the rover appears as a small green dot, contrasting against the Martian landscape filled with sand dunes and depressions surrounding Utopia Planitia.
The three images were taken by the MRO on March 11, 2022, September 8, 2022, and February 7, 2023. Zhurong remains in the same location in the latter two images. Meanwhile, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) has not provided any further updates on the rover.
The Zhurong rover landed on May 15, 2021, in the vast plains of Utopia Planitia in the northern hemisphere of Mars. The rover is part of the Tianwen-1 mission, which means “Questions to Heaven”, consisting of both a lander and an orbiter. This six-wheeled rover weighs 240 kg and carries six scientific instruments to study the geology and climate of the Utopia Planitia area. With this mission, China became the second country in the world to successfully operate a rover on Mars, following the United States.
The Martian environment is extremely harsh for rovers, especially those relying on solar energy. Both NASA’s InSight lander and Opportunity rover ended their missions as dust covered their solar panels. It is possible that Zhurong has faced similar challenges. Nevertheless, this rover has achieved its primary mission objectives and exceeded its expected lifespan of three months.
