China admits that the Zhuzhong rover did not wake up from sleep mode – Kommersant

The Chinese authorities, who for several months did not report anything about the status of the Zhuzhong rover, finally admitted that the device never resumed operation. As the organizers of the mission to Mars suggest, the device may have suffered from the effects of Martian dust and sand. This was announced by Zhang Rongqiao, chief designer of the Chinese Mars exploration program, in an interview. national televisionhis words are conveyed Reuters.

Zhuzhong, China’s first rover named after the Chinese god of fire and operating on Mars since May 2021, went into scheduled sleep mode in May 2022. In this mode, the device had to wait out the period when, due to a lack of solar energy, it could not be charged. According to plans, Zhuzhong was supposed to wake up in December 2022 and continue to study the surface and atmosphere of Mars.

During the 358 days that it worked, the rover managed to advance almost 2 km and do some research. According to experts, while the Zhuzhong was in sleep mode, too much sand and dust could accumulate on its nodes and external equipment, which prevent access to sunlight and prevent the device from charging. Representatives of the People’s Republic of China did not say whether there are any possibilities to restart the rover.

Alena Miklashevskaya