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Deployment

Zhurong Rover at Mars

China's first Mars rover (Tianwen-1; landed Utopia Planitia 2021-05-14, drove off 2021-05-22). Operated by ground command with twin-rover path rehearsal on Earth; no autonomous hazard-avoidance system is documented in available sources (verified-vs-claimed: do not overstate as autonomous). Entered planned hibernation 2022-05-18 and never re-established contact (solar-panel dust suspected); presumed lost.

Zhurong Rover by China National Space Administration · Catalog entry · 2 sources · not yet field-verified · Space

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The Zhurong rover was deployed to Utopia Planitia on Mars as part of China's Tianwen-1 mission, operated by the China National Space Administration. It was designed to study the Martian surface composition, climate, and geology in the region.

Key facts

Mission
Tianwen-1
Site
Utopia Planitia (landed 2021-05-14, drove off 2021-05-22)
Outcome
Hibernated 2022-05-18; never re-established contact, presumed lost (solar-panel dust)

Exposure

Customer segment
research
Scale tier
pilot lt10

Each exposure value carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.

Safety record

No incidents on record for Zhurong Rover at Mars.

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Trust tier
Catalog entry · 2 sources · not yet field-verifiedhow tiers work →
Last updated
2026-08-21
Model
Zhurong Rover
Company
China National Space Administration
Location
Mars
Operator
China National Space Administration
Status
ended
Operator type
maker operated
Scale at site
2 to 10 units
Site environment
mixed
Location precision
verified coordinates
First seen
2021-05-22
ID
f691e13a-18e9-4796-a6b5-e01e394d22da

Timeline

  1. May 2021
    First recorded
    Zhurong Rover first documented operating at Mars.
  2. May 2021
    created
  3. Aug 2026
    Current status: ended, reviewed
    Latest recorded state. New status transitions append here as the deployment-status recorder produces them.

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Zhurong Rover operates in Mars. Explore the full verified map:

Sources (2)

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhurong_(rover)
  2. https://www.planetary.org/space-missions/tianwen-1
Methodology: Verified · 2 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-21

Verification posture

Verified

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-08-21

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: research

Lifecycle: discontinued

Architectural position

Cohort: space

Sources by quality tier

1
knowledge-base
Knowledge base
1
unclassified
Unclassified source

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for Zhurong Rover at Mars.

Common questions

What is the Zhurong Rover deployment at Mars?
Zhurong Rover, built by China National Space Administration, is recorded as a deployment at Mars on the DEPLOY registry. China National Space Administration operates the deployment directly.
Who operates Zhurong Rover at Mars?
China National Space Administration, the manufacturer of Zhurong Rover, operates this deployment directly. This is a maker-deploys-its-own-product arrangement rather than a customer pilot.
When did the Zhurong Rover deployment at Mars go live?
The deployment is recorded as starting May 22, 2021 on the DEPLOY registry. Earlier activity may exist but is not yet sourced.
Is the Zhurong Rover deployment at Mars still active?
As of the most recent verification on the DEPLOY registry, this deployment is no longer operating at this location.
Have there been incidents at the Zhurong Rover deployment at Mars?
No active incidents affecting this deployment are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Absence of recorded incidents is not a guarantee no incident occurred; DEPLOY records only sourced incidents and suppresses retracted ones.

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Machine-readable surfaces