Zhurong

In News: The China National Space Administration recently revealed that its first Mars rover would be called ‘Zhurong.’

Background

In 2019, China became the first country to land a space probe on the moon’s far side, which had previously been unexplored, and returned lunar rocks to Earth for the first time in December.
After the former Soviet Union and the United States, China will be the third country to land a robot rover on Mars.

About Zhurong

The Tianwen-1 probe, which arrived in Mars orbit in February 2020, is carrying China’s first Mars rover.
It takes its name from a mythical fire deity.
The rover is part of China’s space ambitions, which also include the launch of a crewed orbital station and the landing of a human on the moon.
The name of the rover is “Huo Xing,” which means “fire star” in Chinese
Utopia Planitia, a rock-strewn plain where the US lander Viking 2 landed in 1976, is the leading contender for the landing spot.

Tianwen-1

Its objectives include researching the atmosphere and surface conditions on Mars, as well as analysing and mapping the Martian surface and geology.
It takes its name from an ancient Chinese poem called “Questions to Heaven.”
It’s a three-in-one orbiter, lander, and rover that’ll look for water and ice on Mars’ surface, explore soil properties, and research the atmosphere, among other things.
It took off from the Wenchang launch centre on a Long March 5 rocket, a launch system developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT).
It will be the first mission to land a ground-penetrating radar on the Martian surface, allowing scientists to research local geology, as well as the distribution of rock, ice, and soil.