China’s Tianwen-1 mission continues smoothly as rover successfully lands and takes first images of Mars.
As of 15 May, China’s 240 kilogram robot, ‘Zhurong’, officially landed on Mars. Armed with a weather station, solar panels, cameras, a radar system and a magnetic field detector, the rover is well-equipped for its month-long, Mars mission.
Zhurong will be scouring the foreign terrain, “taking pictures” and conducting measurements in the name of science and human progression.
It has certainly made its mother country proud, with China celebrating the successful landing through hour-long programs of the mission.
Describing it as a “milestone advance“, President of China, Xi Jinping, was thrilled with the recent achievements, which have certainly placed China at the forefront of space exploration.
Zhurong has continued to make news, as its first-ever images of the red planet made their internet debut. Released by the China National Space Administration, Zhurong has snapped a very dramatic, moody image of the desolate land.
It documents the seemingly endless expanse of terrain, before the rover made its descent from the lander – so cinematic.
The Zhurong Rover is China’s first rover in Mars. It is the culmination of the nation’s ambitious plan of having an Mars Orbiter, Mars Lander and Mars Rover all in one mission. Zhurong had already transmitted it’s first footage of Mars.
— 🌿Amar (@RubanCarre) May 20, 2021
According to Spectator Australia, Zhurong is one of the more “secretive” rovers on Mars, positing itself as an outsider amongst the five NASA rovers.
It is yet to livestream any of its footage, with an international audience yet to witness its triumphs and failures unfold. However, it is still early days for Zhurong, who may become more open to the global community about its progress as time continues.
The robot was named after the Goddess of Fire in Chinese folklore, and we have to say, the resemblance is quite uncanny.
As for future prospects regarding life on Mars, there is already speculation surfacing throughout the online community about the city ‘Nüwa’ and how power will play out on this new civilisation.
The name of the guy writing in those posts, is: JBIO NuWa
Nuwa is the city they building on mars, starting 2054 and will accommodate 250.000 humans.
Nasa and China fighting out Nuwas currency as we speak.
Elon saying he takes Doge to mars will probably not be a understatement.
— T steens (@MobileMediaBuy1) May 19, 2021
Nüwa is said to be a future hub for civilisation, attached to “five unique cities“. Currently, it is only a project, but it shows signs of huge potential, following its nomination as a finalist in The Mars Society’s City State Design Competition.
Architect, Alfredo Munoz, who worked on the Nüwa project, stated the importance of combining futuristic designs with scientific research to ensure a thorough and realistic proposition of this future city.
Based on Munoz’s comments, it appears there is still a lot of research to be conducted before any major developments take place on Mars.
Sorry Mr Musk, but your hopes and dreams of a flourishing Mars civilisation by 2050 seem a little bit too ambitious.
