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The Zhurong Rover Explores Utopia Planitia

Sept. 29, 2021
This image acquired on August 1, 2021 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows Utopia Planitia, a volcanic region located in the low-lying Northern Hemisphere of Mars.

The Chinese Zhurong rover, named after the god of fire in Chinese mythology, landed in Utopia Planitia in May 2021. Utopia Planitia is a volcanic region located in the low-lying Northern Hemisphere of Mars.

The expansive, flat, smooth plains of Utopia are dimpled by impact craters, volcanic domes, light-toned ridges made of wind-blown materials, and troughs. If the rover continues to drive south from its landing site, this HiRISE view shows the kind of terrain and features Zhurong may explore.

The map is projected here at a scale of 25 centimeters (9.8 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 28.8 centimeters [11.3 inches] per pixel [with 1 x 1 binning]; objects on the order of 86 centimeters [33.9 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.

The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

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