The landing capsule moves away from the orbiter, a precursor to the first pictures Zhurong will send from the surface. Credit: China National Space Agency.
Just a few days after landing on Mars, China’s Zhurong rover – named after the god of fire in Chinese folk tales – has sent back two images from the red planet: a black and white image, and a selfie in full colour!
Zhurong landed in the northern hemisphere of the Red Planet on a vast plain called Utopia Planitia on 14 May. Just a few days later, it sent back a picture from an obstacle avoidance camera that was installed on the front of the rover.
The black and white picture shows a ramp that descends from the lander down to the surface of the planet.
The second colour image was taken by a different navigation camera at the rear of the rover, and shows Zhurong’s unfolded solar panels and antenna, with a bit of the iconic Martian red soil and rocks in the background.
Zhurong also sent back videos taken by a camera on the orbiter that showed how the lander and rover separated from the orbiter during landing.
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Originally published by Cosmos as Zhurong rover sends first pictures of Mars
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