Both spacecraft that are part of China’s first interplanetary mission are in trouble because the rover could potentially disappear to the surface after hibernation. The Zhurong rover has been hibernating on the Martian surface since May 18 last year and is expected to resume operations in December, during the Northern Hemisphere spring equinox.

However, no claims of contact were made with the rover. The South China Morning Post reported on January 7, citing anonymous sources, that teams around the World had yet to receive a signal from Zhurong.

The Zhurong rover landed in the Utopia Planitia region of Mars in May 2021, but entered a hibernation period to survive the winter when both temperature and solar radiation levels were too low for the rover to work on solar cells. The rover was expected to be able to generate enough power from the sun and continue operating autonomously once the temperature reached minus 15 degrees Celsius.

According to the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, Zhuron went into hibernation after the autumn equinox in late February when local temperatures were around minus 20 degrees Celsius. Conditions should become more favorable after the December 26 spring equinox. Mars has an axial tilt of about 25 degrees, which means it has similar seasonal variations to Earth during its orbit around the Sun.

Although there is no official comment at this time, the rover may have been affected by sandstorms that could reduce power output in the area. The Tianwen-1 orbiter recorded storms around the landing site in March and April 2021.

Zhurong has active means to remove dust from the solar array with four butterfly wings, but it won’t be able to do this during hibernation. The arrays also feature an anti-dust coating and can be tilted to maximize light gathering.

Zhurong’s main mission took three Earth months, but he worked a little over an Earth year on Utopia Planitia, passing at least 1,921 meters south of the landing site. During its extended mission, it searched for geomorphological targets such as mud volcanoes.

Using its ground-based radar, the rover provided detailed information about the local underground and found evidence of relatively recent water activity in the area. The rover landing was also used by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson as a warning to Congress about China’s competitive threat to America’s leadership in manned spaceflight. Source