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APOD

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

The picture shows Jupiter's moon Ganymede during a close pass of NASA's Juno spacecraft. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Zhurong: New Rover on Mars

Explanation: There's a new rover on Mars. In mid-May, China 's Tianwen-1 mission delivered the Zhurong rover onto the red planet . As Mars means Planet of Fire in Chinese, the Zhurong rover's name means, roughly, God of Fire in Chinese mythology . Zhurong landed in northern Utopia Planitia , the largest known impact basin in the Solar System, and an area reported to have much underground ice . Among many other scientific instruments , Zhurong carries ground-penetrating radar that can detect ice buried even 100-meters deep. Car-sized Zhurong is pictured here next to its landing base. The image was snapped by a remote camera deployed by the rolling rover. Zhurong 's planned 90-day mission includes studying the geology, soil, and atmosphere of Mars in Utopia Planitia .

Date June 15, 2021
Credit Image Credit: China National Space Administration
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.