While the Zhurong Mars rover was set to awake from planned hibernation, it may end up remaining dormant.
Planned Hibernation?
According to Live Science, Chinese officials have finally shed light on the dormant Mars rover after months of staying silent. The rover reportedly stopped its movements almost a year ago.
CNN notes that the Zhurong rover landed on the Utopia Planitia, a huge plain in the northern hemisphere of the red planet, on May 15, 2021. It then entered planned hibernation during winter last May 2022.
The rover was supposed to awake last 2022 as winter across the northern hemisphere of Mars was nearing its end. At the same time, sunlight was gradually becoming more abundant.
Despite this, the rover remained silent and dormant. While this has puzzled many, authorities have finally revealed why the Zhurong Mars has not awakened from its planned hibernation.
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Dust Could Be the Culprit
As per CNN, Zhang Rongqiao, the mission designer, explains that the rover's hibernation could have been prolonged due to the unexpected buildup of dust. Based on their analysis, this was the most probable possibility.
Rongqiao adds that the rover is assumed to wake up on its own when weather and light conditions permit. Moreover, temperatures within its cabin should go beyond -15 degrees Celsius. Also, since the rover is solar-operated, enough sunlight should penetrate for the battery to reach at least 140 watts.
He acknowledges that if the buildup of dust goes beyond 40%, the rover may never awaken from its hibernation. However, he also emphasizes that the hibernation of the rover was part of their expectations.
As per Reuters, the unexpected dust build up could have affected the rover's ability to generate power and wake up. Rongqiao also adds that they have not communicated with the rover since it started its period of dormancy. They still monitor the rover each day and think that it has not awakened due to sunlight not reaching the minimum power generation requirements.
Zhurong Mars Rover
The rover, which weighs 240 kilograms, is armed with six scientific instruments. This includes a topography camera with high-resolution and a surface composition detector. The rover also operates on solar power.
The Zhurong had the mission of looking into the surface soil and atmosphere of the planet after its faultless landing last May 2021. It was also set to search for traces of prehistoric life, including ice or water in the subsurfaces, through its radar that could penetrate the ground.
While it was active, it was able to snap Mars's surface and even take a selfie. The rover was able to document Martian wind sound. It also participated in experiments involving information relay between the China National Space Administration and the European Space Agency.
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