Did the Chinese Mars rover wake up? Media reports on the new discovery of the Zhurong account, with a year of silence and a last chance

Did the Chinese Mars rover wake up? In July 2023, the news of a "new discovery of the Zhurong spacecraft" really caught the eye of many people. Has the Chinese Zhurong rover, which has been silent on Mars for a year, started a new job?At first glance, this is really good news

Did the Chinese Mars rover wake up? In July 2023, the news of a "new discovery of the Zhurong spacecraft" really caught the eye of many people. Has the Chinese Zhurong rover, which has been silent on Mars for a year, started a new job?

At first glance, this is really good news. Our Zhurong Mars rover has come back to life, and there are major new discoveries. It is worth celebrating with a plate of hard dishes and half a jin of Baijiu.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that this was a discovery before the "silence" of the Zhurong Mars rover, which lasted for at least a year. However, the relevant research results were only published in the world science journal Nature on July 6, 2023, to the extent that many people misunderstood this news and believed that the Chinese Mars rover had awakened.

The discovery of the Zhu Rong spacecraft has led to the discovery of evidence of sedimentary sequences altered by the ancient Martian wind field, confirming the importance of wind and sand activities on Mars. It records changes in the ancient Martian environment, and changes in the Martian rotation axis and ice age also affect changes in the ancient Martian environment.

So, if the Chinese Mars rover hasn't woken up and is still in silence, can the Zhurong Mars rover still wake up? Hope has become increasingly elusive, but there is still a last chance. If we cannot wake up in this opportunity, we will have to give up completely.

The Zhurong Mars rover is China's first intelligent robot to explore the world of Mars, with a height of 1.85 meters and a weight of 240 kilograms. It carries six advanced instruments,Landed on May 15, 2021 at 7:18 am in the northern hemisphere of MarsThe Utopian Plain has been explored for a whole year, covering a total of 1921 meters.

The "Zhurong" has a total of 4 solar wings and is equipped with over 1000 solar cells, covering a total area of 4 square meters. Its stability is extremely strong, providing sufficient power support for the Zhurong. Electricity is essential for ground operation, instrument operation, and precision instruments to keep warm during the lunar night.

Unfortunately, in winter, the utopian plains often experience sandstorms, and the obscuration of dust further weakens the power generation ability of the Mars rover's solar cellsI can't make ends meet.

Although the temperature is low in the spring and summer seasons, the Zhurong spacecraft can use 10 n-hexane tanks to insulate precision instruments and electronic equipment. During the day, it absorbs heat and liquefies, while at night, it releases heat and solidifies. However, in winter, due to the low temperature, the n-hexane tanks also lose their function and require an electric heater for insulation.

On May 18, 2022, the Zhurong spacecraft completed its mission and entered "silence". The winter in the northern hemisphere of Mars ended in December 2022. The Zhurong spacecraft was expected to wake up from December 2022 to January 2023, but did not wake up until July 2023.

On April 15, 2023, Jia Yang, the deputy chief designer of the Mars probe, stated that the Zhurong spacecraft has been dormant for almost a year and many people have asked me if it can still wake up. However, I cannot guarantee that there is a possibility of not being able to wake up, and various results may occur, which suggests that the Zhurong spacecraft may not be able to wake up.

Now there is still a last chance for the Zhurong spacecraft to "wake up". On July 12, 2023, the northern hemisphere of Mars will usher in the "summer solstice", which means that the northern hemisphere of Mars will officially enter a hot summer. The direct sunlight point on Mars will reach the northernmost point, and the light intensity will greatly increase. The solar cell production capacity of the Zhurong spacecraft will greatly increase.

In August 2023,Northern HemisphereThe Utopian Plain will usher in the hottest period of the year, so there is still one last chance for the Zhurong ship. If we cannot wake up as scheduled, we will have to give up. It is likely that crucial equipment and instruments have been frozen and damaged by low temperatures, resulting in the inability to start.

Another possibility is that the dust on the surface of the solar cell is too thick, even if the solar cell panel is coated with a dust-proof coating and uses a super hydrophobic material, similar to the surface of a lotus leaf. Water droplets and dust will immediately slide off when they fall on it, but the effect has not been proven to be ideal.

The US Mars probe Insight underestimated the viscosity of the Martian soil, and the ground penetrating instruments never entered the Martian underground. The reason is that the Martian soil has too strong viscosity, and the surface of the Zhurong solar cell may have been covered with dust, and the power generation capacity may have decreased to zero.

The US Opportunity Mars rover was forever silent because of a large amount of dust covering the solar cells. Finally, I hope that the Chinese Mars rover can wake up in August 2023, but it doesn't matter if it won't wake up. It has already exceeded its designed lifespan of "three months".Interesting scientific content, please follow the unique WeChat official account: interesting exploration

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