China Mum On Fate Of Its Zhurong Mars Rover

Tianwen 1, China's first interplanetary mission, marked its second anniversary in orbit around Mars on Feb. 10, but there was no update on the status of the mission's Zhurong rover, Andrew Jones reported for Science.com.

Photo Insert: Zhurong was expected to wake up in December, around the time of the spring equinox, but China and its space authorities have remained silent on the status of the rover.

The Tianwen 1 mission's Zhurong rover entered hibernation in May 2022 due to declining solar power available to the spacecraft during winter in Mars' northern hemisphere. Zhurong was expected to wake up in December, around the time of the spring equinox, but China and its space authorities have remained silent on the status of the rover.

Chinese state media marked the second anniversary with short articles highlighting the achievements of the Tianwen 1 Mars orbiter with only brief mentions of Zhurong. No new images from the orbiter have been released.

Zhurong was expected to wake up autonomously when two conditions are met. These are key components reaching a temperature of greater than 5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 15 degrees Celsius) and energy generation of greater than 140 watts. Both conditions were predicted to be reached in December.

The rover does not carry a radioisotope heater unit, like other rovers including China's Yutu moon explorers, but instead has a pair of "windows" allowing a chemical called n-undecane to store heat energy.

The substance absorbs heat and melts during the day, and solidifies and releases heat at night, according to Chinese state media. Dust storms in Utopia Planitia may have impacted the rover's ability to generate heat and light.

This could potentially be the issue explaining Zhurong's silence and may leave hope that the rover reactivates in warmer conditions or when the Martian wind cleans its solar arrays.

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