Besides Sino-US tension spiraling lower and civil unrest in Cuba, Haiti, and South Africa flaring up, the battle for Mars continues with China’s Mars rover Zhurong traveling across the Red Planet.
Zhurong landed on Mars on May 14 after orbiting around the fourth rock from the sun for three months. Since landing, the rover has traveled 450 meters (or a little more than a quarter-mile) on an “exploration and inspection” mission, according to state-run press agency Xinhua News.
The rover, which is part of the Tianwen-1 mission to Mars conducted by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), has captured images of the Martian landscape.
The latest picture CNSA shows is the cover of the lander and parachute.
Readers may recall CNSA experienced “nine minutes of terror” as the lander descended toward the planet’s surface at a high rate of speed through the thin atmosphere in May.
Once the lander touched down, the rover was able to roll down a specially made ramp.
Meanwhile, NASA landed the Mars Perseverance rover in February and is conducting a mission for signs of ancient life. The rover also launched a helicopter called Ingenuity, which has flown a series of times.
The US and China have taken an interest in Mars because it’s packed with rare metals, including lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, niobium, molybdenum, lanthanum, europium, tungsten, and gold, essential minerals that will hopefully one day power the green economy of tomorrow.
via zerohedge
China’s Mars Rover Travels 450 Meters, Spots Own Parachute From Lander
