Space and Physics
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NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has spotted some pretty awesome stuff from orbit. From shifting dunes to mysterious “spiders”, its keen eye can spot a lot – including Zhurong, the Chinese rover that landed on Mars last May.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.Over the last 10 months, Zhurong has covered 1.5 kilometers (just shy of a mile) across the Red Planet. The orbital image shows in enhanced contrast the tracks of the last portion of exploration, plus the rover itself.
Zhurong is 2.6 by 3 meters (8 feet 6 inches by 9 feet 10 inches), so this picture also gives an idea of just how sharp the HiRISE camera on MRO is, given it can spot a car-sized rover from about 288 kilometers (179 miles) above the surface.
Zhurong's mission, originally 90 days, has been extended and the rover continues to explore Utopia Planitia in search of interesting geology – and maybe signs of ancient life.
