Zhurong was China’s rover that landed on Mars in 2021.
The rover formed part of China’s Tianwen-1 mission, which launched on July 23, 2020. Tianwen-1 included an orbiter, a lander and the rover, making China the first nation to successfully place all three types of spacecraft at Mars during one mission. Zhurong landed in Utopia Planitia on May 14, 2021.
Named after an ancient Chinese god of fire, Zhurong studied Martian soil, surface geology, climate and the local magnetic environment. It used cameras, radar and other instruments while travelling across the landing region. The rover exceeded its original planned surface mission before entering hibernation during the Martian winter.
Zhurong was not the first rover on Mars: NASA’s Sojourner arrived in 1997. Yutu and Yutu-2 are Chinese lunar rovers, which is why their names are sometimes confused with Zhurong.