The Chinese Zhurong rover, which arrived on Mars in May 2021, no longer gives any sign of life. A worrying absence of news, when he was supposed to resume contact in December, after his hibernation. According to certain hypotheses, the mission could now be over.
” Hello Beijing? Zhurong no longer responds. The Chinese rover sent to Mars has not been heard from since May 2022! At first, nothing to worry about: Zhurong was supposed to go into hibernation mode during the Martian winter. Mars was entering a six-month period, during which the lack of Sun made the energy supply more complicated.
But the Chinese authorities were expecting news for the month of December, which did not happen. “ Zhurong’s awakening is dependent on temperature and solar energy leveltells Numerama Andrew Jones, rover tracking specialist for the SpaceNews site. This is why we expected a revival around the vernal equinox which occurs mid-December in the northern hemisphere. »
Beijing’s deafening silence on Zhurong
So why didn’t Zhurong wake up as planned? Unfortunately, at this stage, we will have to be content with hypotheses, because the Chinese authorities are particularly silent on this subject. ” It is quite normal that China does not say anything about the progress of the missionconsiders Andrew Jones. But, in the past, they have sometimes announced the failure or the end of a space project, so if they haven’t said anything, it may be because they are waiting for new information. »
Anyone looking to follow Chinese space closely knows how rare and precious information is. Beijing severely blocks all communication and only allows sorted information to pass once everything is smooth and perfect, even if it means sometimes taking its time, far from the advertising frenzy to which NASA has accustomed the Western world.
As a result, while waiting for an official announcement, you just have to dig into the various data or consult Weibo, the Chinese Twitter on which journalists sometimes give some information. Thus, some journalists on the spot revealed that Tianwen-1, the orbiter which accompanied Zhurong during its launch, continued to operate normally. This does not indicate any new information on the rover, but is already reassuring a little!
Could Zhurong just break down, never to wake up? If so, with the return of better conditions, the craft could end up coming out of hibernation. The latest temperature readings given by Perseverance evoke a mercury at −20 degrees Celsius at the level of the Jezero crater, which is very cold. Knowing that Zhurong is a little further north than Perseverance, in an even cooler region, he may be waiting for a slightly milder climate to revive his batteries. Temperatures around −15 degrees would be sufficient to recover enough energy.
Zhurong is even programmed to wake up automatically only when the thermometer rises to that temperature. For Andrew Jones, it is a possibility: Maybe China is just waiting for better terms. Which would explain why she hasn’t made a final announcement yet. In this scenario, it’s only a matter of time before we can see the rover set off again to explore the Red Planet.
The sandstorm hypothesis
But the other hypothesis is a little more pessimistic: a sandstorm. Here, the problem would be quite different, because if Zhurong’s solar panels are covered with dust, it is impossible for him to recharge. The information site South China Morning Post quotes anonymous sources according to which this hypothesis would be favored by the Chinese space agency, which is trying to regain contact via the orbiter. But, still according to these sources, it would be impossible to download the data taken by Tianwen-1.
What credit should be given to this information? Hard to say, as the South China Morning Post is often criticized for its lack of impartiality. He would be too close to Chinese power, according to his detractors.
On the other hand, the hypothesis is very probable. Zhurong has no power sources other than his solar panels, and if they are obstructed, nothing can wake him up. Sandstorms are not uncommon on Mars, the InSight lander suffered recently! Even though the Chinese rover’s solar panels are supposed to be dustproof, too much could exceed their capabilities. If Zhurong is indeed in this situation, it would take an image taken by an orbiter to be able to distinguish its solar panels and see if the problem really comes from there. Beijing is therefore certainly waiting for confirmation before announcing anything.
Anyway, the Chinese regime should not be ashamed of this mission, even if it stopped there. Zhurong was a craft intended to survey the surface of Mars for three months and it continued its journey for a year. He covered almost two kilometers and performed all the tasks expected of him. ” Zhurong is a big hit for Chinaassures Andrew Jones. Whether on a technical level with the launch and landing, or from a scientific point of view, everything is perfect. »
