Chinese rover Zhurong shares Mars selfie [Video]

• Another “selfie” from Mars has been shared with the world — this time from Chinese rover Zhurong.
• Unlike NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers which used their robotic arms like a selfie stick, Zhurong placed a wireless camera on the planet’s surface and moved back to pose for the shot.
• The Chinese flag and the mascots for the Beijing Winter Olympics were displayed on the rover’s landing platform.

China’s Mars rover, Zhurong, has sent several new stunning images from its trip, which started in late May.

According to a blog post from the China National Space Administration (CNSA), the rover placed a small wireless camera on the planet’s surface then backed away to pose for the shot with its landing platform.

The photos were also shared in the Twitter thread below. One photo showed the landing platform up close, displaying the Chinese flag along with pictures of the mascots for the Beijing Winter Olympics. Another photo showed a panorama of the Red Planet’s horizon in the distance.

CNSA Watcher also shared the photos, along with additional information, on YouTube.

Zhurong’s Mars landing made China the second country to operate a rover on the Red Planet. It is about a thousand miles away from NASA’s Perseverance rover.

Zhurong is set to explore its surroundings for about 90 days while capturing more photos and analyzing the geology and climate.

NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance Rovers also sent selfies of their own in March and April, respectively. Instead of placing a separate camera down, NASA’s rovers used their robotic arm (kind of like a selfie stick) to take the pictures. Most of the pictures they share were pieced together from multiple images.

Perseverance also took a group photo with Ingenuity, its tiny helicopter companion.

The rovers may be the only known family on the seemingly lonely planet, but they certainly take surreal photos, and the planet offers a scenic backdrop.

Source: The Verge