How does Zhurong cope with the winter on Mars? The engineering team explains

According to the Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center of the National Space Administration, Mars is about to enter winter. After winter, the Mars rover "Zhurong" that is carrying out patrol and exploration missions on Mars will face more challenges. Zhang Rongqiao, chief designer of China's first Mars exploration mission, recently revealed to reporters that the engineering team has made a detailed plan for how "Zhurong" will "enter the winter".

Like Earth, Mars has four seasons, but the difference is that a Martian year is equivalent to two years on Earth, and each season lasts about six months.

Zhang Rongqiao, chief designer of China's first Mars exploration mission: At present, the main power acquisition, storage, and supply of the Mars rover are in line with our original design expectations, so we have also made some corresponding contingency plans and strategies for surviving the harsh winter.

After entering winter, the temperature on Mars will drop below -100 degrees Celsius at night, and the probability of sandstorms will increase significantly. Therefore, the design team has carried out targeted designs for the Zhurong Mars rover in terms of resistance to low temperatures, sandstorms, and power supply at the beginning of the design to ensure its safety during the patrol and exploration of Mars.

The surface of Zhurong has accumulated thin dust and is in normal working condition

Previously, the Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center of the National Space Administration released a set of images. Through the images of the surface of Mars taken by the orbiter, it can be seen that sandstorms have occurred in many places. What is the current specific status of the "Zhurong"? How will it deal with sandstorms? Click on the video to learn more↓

Through the two selfies taken by the Zhurong Mars rover on May 19 last year and January 22 this year, we can clearly see that the surface of the rover is obviously covered with sand and dust.

Peng Song, deputy chief designer of the Tianwen-1 rover of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation: So far, everything is going smoothly. It (dust) will affect the power generation of the solar panels, because the dust will definitely reduce the power generation efficiency, which may cause energy shortage.

The Zhurong Mars rover mainly converts solar energy into electrical energy through solar panels, thus providing the power support needed for the normal operation of the scientific equipment on the Mars rover. Therefore, the dust on the solar panels has a certain impact on the conversion of light energy. Not only that, the dust will also have a certain impact on the temperature of the Mars rover.

Peng Song, deputy chief designer of the Tianwen-1 rover at the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation: On the top plate of the (Mars rover) body in the middle of the wings, there are two circular transparent films, scientifically called solar windows, which allow sunlight to pass through the films and retain the heat inside the rover's cabin. But now if it is covered with a layer of dust, less sunlight may penetrate, and then the amount of heat collected will be less, which ultimately affects the energy situation.

It is understood that in order for the Zhurong Mars rover to obtain enough electricity, researchers have to design the solar panels to be large enough so that they can absorb more solar energy and convert it into electricity. According to the latest data sent back by the Mars rover, the Mars rover has traveled more than 1.9 kilometers and its scientific exploration is working normally without being significantly affected by the dust. Researchers will continue to monitor the Mars rover in the future.

Four designs of Zhurong to deal with sandstorms

In view of the frequent occurrence of sandstorms in winter, the designers formulated four measures for Zhurong.

Peng Song, deputy chief designer of the Tianwen-1 rover at the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation: The first measure is that the solar panels are made of a special material called superhydrophobic material, just like lotus leaves. Water droplets can slide off when they fall on them, and dust can be easily blown away after falling on them.

The solar wings also have the function of directional tracking of the sun. Although the sun is relatively low in winter, the rover's wings will still change their position like sunflowers as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, maximizing the acquisition of solar energy.

The third measure is that under windy and sandy weather conditions, the Mars rover can conserve energy and reduce energy consumption by changing its working mode.

Peng Song, deputy chief designer of the Tianwen-1 rover at the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation: The fourth measure is sleep wake-up. If the previous three measures are not enough to solve the energy problem, the whole vehicle may go to sleep, that is, it will cut off the power to itself. If the sandstorm weather improves, it will wake up automatically and continue to work.

The Zhurong patrol and exploration successfully carried out international cooperation

Since the Zhurong rover set foot on the surface of Mars for patrol exploration in May 2021, it has been working stably for more than 300 Martian days and has sent back a large amount of scientific exploration data. During this period, it successfully completed a communication test, laying the foundation for my country's subsequent international cooperation.

After Zhurong landed on the surface of Mars, it conducted an in-orbit relay communication experiment with ESA's Mars Express orbiter and was successful.

Peng Song, deputy chief designer of the Tianwen-1 rover at the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation: It is equivalent to us sending a signal to the European Space Agency's Mars Express satellite, which then transmits the signal to the European Space Operations Center, and then to our Beijing center. We conducted a link test and verification, proving that we have the ability to cooperate internationally.

At present, the Zhurong Mars rover has traveled more than 1.9 kilometers on the surface of Mars and is moving southward according to the established scientific exploration route.

Peng Song, deputy chief designer of the Tianwen-1 rover at the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation: There are some targets we are interested in to the south, including a large sand dune. We have done some detections around the dune, and also some detections of rocks near the dunes. Overall, our focus is still on the needs of scientists.

In addition, the Tianwen-1 orbiter, which is conducting global remote sensing exploration of Mars, is also carrying out its exploration mission as planned, focusing on typical landforms and geological units such as craters, volcanoes, canyons, and dry riverbeds to obtain high-resolution images.

Source: CCTV News Client