Which China-led mission carried the Zhurong rover to Mars?

The China-led mission that carried the Zhurong rover to Mars was Tianwen-1.

Tianwen-1 was China’s first independent interplanetary mission and combined three major elements: an orbiter, a lander, and the Zhurong rover. That made it unusually ambitious because one mission had to reach Mars, enter orbit, land safely, deploy a rover, and support surface operations.

The spacecraft launched on July 23, 2020, aboard a Long March 5 rocket from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site. Tianwen-1 entered Martian orbit in February 2021, and its lander and rover touched down in Utopia Planitia on May 14. Zhurong then drove onto the surface on May 22, beginning a planned 90-sol exploration mission.

Zhurong carried instruments for imaging, surface composition, magnetic fields, weather, and subsurface radar. Its landing site was chosen partly because Utopia Planitia may preserve clues about Mars’s ancient water history. The rover ultimately operated for more than its planned lifetime before entering hibernation in May 2022. Luna 25 was a Russian lunar mission, Shenzhou 12 was a crewed Chinese spaceflight, and Chang’e 5 returned lunar samples.