The Zhurong Mars exploration rover created in China has successfully descended from the landing platform to the planet’s surface. This was announced today, May 22, by the National Space Administration of the People’s Republic of China.

The named rover, we recall, arrived on the Red Planet aboard the automatic station Tianwen-1 (“Tianwen-1”). The successful descent of the landing platform to Mars took place a week ago. Since then, the rover has been preparing for a descent to the surface: solar panels, an antenna and a ramp have been deployed. And now Zhurong embarks on a scientific program.

«May 22 rover Zhurong safely left the landing platform, reached the surface of Mars and began exploration“, – said in the message of the agency Xinhua.

The device is located on the Utopia Planitia – a rounded lowland with a diameter of about 3300 km in the eastern part of the northern hemisphere of Mars. The rover is equipped with cameras, a magnetic field detector, a ground penetrating radar, a surface compound detector and a meteorological measurement instrument. The main research program is designed for three months. If the rover does not have critical malfunctions, it can continue to function.

We add that China has become the second country after the United States, which has successfully delivered a rover to the surface of Mars. The rover will, among other things, look for signs of the existence of life in the past or present.