Voices From Mars Were Recorded By China's Zhurong Roaming Robot

Illustration (Photo: CNSA documentation)

JAKARTA - The Red Planet or Mars is currently not only inhabited by a robot explorer from the United States (US), NASA's Perseverance. However, China has also sent a robotic rover to Mars.

Now, the country is proving the progress of its project on Mars. Compiled from Mashable, Tuesday, June 29, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) shared a new video, and for the first time, features audio coming from Mars.

"The Mars orbiter and rover are doing an excellent job, smoothly and safely delivering reports from Mars, and sending great blessings", the CNSA said in a statement.

The sound was picked up by the Zhurong rover and is considered the main objective of China's Tianwen-1 mission to Mars. It is known that the Zhurong rover was launched from Earth on July 23, 2020, and arrived on Mars in the spring of 2021.

Zhurong traverses a large crater on the Red Planet known as Utopia Planitia, about 1.800 kilometers (1.118 mi) northeast of NASA's Perseverance rover.

The rover's robot sends out diverse images showing underground ice, volcanoes, dunes, and more. Utopia Planitia was chosen by the CNSA as the site of Zhurong's 90-day exploration, as well as a continuation of humanity's search for signs of ancient life.

The pictures that Zhurong took use a wireless camera that can be stored on the ground and then taken back. There is also a video taken from the camera mounted on the center mast of the Zhurong when the rover first moved its wheels on the surface of Mars. This video also includes audio of the rover mechanics at work.

CNSA scientists say they hope to use the audio system to capture the sound of the wind on Mars, something we hope to hear in future videos.