Zhurong finally located on Mars
Click for full image.
Though the Chinese had earlier this week released one image taken by their Mars orbiter, Tianwen-1, showing their rover Zhurong on the surface of Mars, they did not provide any specific location information.
This lack has now been filled by a new high resolution image of Zhurong taken by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) on June 6, 2021. This image, cropped to match the Tianwen-1 image and annotated by me to post here, shows the parachute, entry capsule, heat shield, lander, and rover. I have added white dots to distinguish the rover from the lander, which indicate that since the Tianwen-1 orbital image the rover had moved south about 70 feet, suggesting it has been able to travel on the surface.
What this MRO image provides that the Chinese refused to reveal is the latitude and longitude of that landing site, which in turn tells us that the lander put down about 14 miles to the northwest of its targeted landing spot. The mosaic of MRO context camera images below show this landing spot in context with the surrounding terrain.
Click here, here, and here for full images.
The white cross on the right indicates the targeted landing spot. The red cross marks the actual landing spot. The red box shows the area covered by one of the very few orbital images released by China from its Tianwen-1 orbiter. The white box near the circular feature was a cool image I highlighted only four days ago that described some the most interesting geology in the Zhurong landing zone.
Alfred McEwen of the Lunar & Planetary Laboratory in Arizona and MRO’S principal investigator had requested these images. When I asked him where he would send Zhurong if he was in charge he instantly responded, “Definitely head northwest to the pitted cone.” As McEwen explained in that post earlier this week, this area of Utopia Planitia…
…may be the location of really voluminous eruption of muddy sediments, perhaps the remnants of an ancient ocean. Or maybe it was lava. The pitted cones are a key feature.
The only way we can learn whether these cones are made of muddy sediments or lava is to go there.
So far the Chinese have moved Zhurong to the south, not the northwest, but the mission has only begun, and is set to run through the end of August, assuming nothing goes wrong. Where they send it however is going to be their little secret, as China is very tight-lipped about what it does or plans to do. For example, they have so far only released three orbital images from Tianwen-1, though it is certain it has taken many many more. They have also told us nothing about Zhurong’s condition and state of operations once it successfully rolled off its lander three weeks ago.
This story at Nature makes an estimate at the territory reachable during the next three months, which would make reaching that pitted cone unlikely. The article however also recognizes that the rover could go much farther should it last longer, as Yutu-2 has on the Moon and Spirit and Opportunity did on Mars.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
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Click for full image.
Though the Chinese had earlier this week released one image taken by their Mars orbiter, Tianwen-1, showing their rover Zhurong on the surface of Mars, they did not provide any specific location information.
This lack has now been filled by a new high resolution image of Zhurong taken by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) on June 6, 2021. This image, cropped to match the Tianwen-1 image and annotated by me to post here, shows the parachute, entry capsule, heat shield, lander, and rover. I have added white dots to distinguish the rover from the lander, which indicate that since the Tianwen-1 orbital image the rover had moved south about 70 feet, suggesting it has been able to travel on the surface.
What this MRO image provides that the Chinese refused to reveal is the latitude and longitude of that landing site, which in turn tells us that the lander put down about 14 miles to the northwest of its targeted landing spot. The mosaic of MRO context camera images below show this landing spot in context with the surrounding terrain.
Click here, here, and here for full images.
The white cross on the right indicates the targeted landing spot. The red cross marks the actual landing spot. The red box shows the area covered by one of the very few orbital images released by China from its Tianwen-1 orbiter. The white box near the circular feature was a cool image I highlighted only four days ago that described some the most interesting geology in the Zhurong landing zone.
Alfred McEwen of the Lunar & Planetary Laboratory in Arizona and MRO’S principal investigator had requested these images. When I asked him where he would send Zhurong if he was in charge he instantly responded, “Definitely head northwest to the pitted cone.” As McEwen explained in that post earlier this week, this area of Utopia Planitia…
…may be the location of really voluminous eruption of muddy sediments, perhaps the remnants of an ancient ocean. Or maybe it was lava. The pitted cones are a key feature.
The only way we can learn whether these cones are made of muddy sediments or lava is to go there.
So far the Chinese have moved Zhurong to the south, not the northwest, but the mission has only begun, and is set to run through the end of August, assuming nothing goes wrong. Where they send it however is going to be their little secret, as China is very tight-lipped about what it does or plans to do. For example, they have so far only released three orbital images from Tianwen-1, though it is certain it has taken many many more. They have also told us nothing about Zhurong’s condition and state of operations once it successfully rolled off its lander three weeks ago.
This story at Nature makes an estimate at the territory reachable during the next three months, which would make reaching that pitted cone unlikely. The article however also recognizes that the rover could go much farther should it last longer, as Yutu-2 has on the Moon and Spirit and Opportunity did on Mars.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
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