Mars also has seasons. Our red neighbour, often described as Earth’s twin, resembles us to the point of having copied our winter-summer cycle. The planet has just come out of an icy period, which has put the human instruments present on the surface in difficulty.
This is the case of the Chinese Zhurong rover. Arrived on Mars in May 2021, it crosses from the northern plain of Utopia Planitia. A year after the start of the mission, with winter approaching, it was placed in “sleep” by the Chinese space agency.
On Mars the temperature can drop to -120°C. In such conditions, the robot must fight for its survival. He then cuts off all communications. On December 26, the date corresponding to the beginning of spring on the red planet, China expected to receive a message from the rover, signaling a return to activity.
The alarm clock
But nearly 20 days after the equinox, the agency still remains unanswered. Only the Shanghai Space Technology Academy spoke this week. In charge of the Tianwen-1 orbiter, she explained that her mission was going well despite a small problem in the transmission of information.
She made no mention of the rover or its condition in the press release. According to several anonymous sources, quoted by the South China Morning Post (an independent newspaper based in Hong Kong), sandstorms hit the rover.
illustrative image of the Zhurong rover on the ground of the planet Mars © CNSA
These events are common on Mars. Winds can blow over 100 km/h. With them they bring thousands of dust grains. Sticky, these then attach themselves to the rover’s solar panels. NASA’s Insight probe had to end its mission recently because of this same problem.
The Chinese rover had foreseen this eventuality. Before his departure, the CNSA had developed a system “butterfly wings” able to make the solar panels move to move the Martian sand away. Just before initiating the hibernation protocol, the rover turned to protect itself from the cold and wind. Despite all these precautions, Zhurong failed to survive the seven months of Martian winter.
A successful mission
Nevertheless, Zhurong’s mission remains a great success. Initially planned to last 92 days, it lasted a year and a half. First non-American device on Mars, the rover will have traveled 1900 meters on the red planet, transmitting unpublished images of our neighbor. More importantly, it will have paved the way for space exploration for China.
The Middle Kingdom now has its own station in orbit around the Earth and plans to set foot on the Moon within 10 years. But the planet Mars remains the ultimate goal. China hopes to reach our red neighbor before the United States.
