Zhurong

Mission Profile

Zhurong is China's first Mars rover, delivered to Utopia Planitia on 15 May 2021 by the Tianwen-1 landing system, making China the second nation in history to successfully operate a rover on Mars and achieving this feat on their first Mars attempt. The 240 kg solar-powered rover carries six instruments including a ground-penetrating radar, multispectral camera, meteorological instruments, and a magnetic field detector to study Mars's surface geology, soil composition, and subsurface structure. Zhurong traversed over 1.9 km of the Martian surface during its initial operational period, with the ground-penetrating radar detecting layered subsurface structures that may represent ancient flooding events. The rover entered a dormancy period due to dust accumulation on its solar panels in May 2022 and has not been confirmed to have revived, but its operational period provided substantial scientific returns.