The approaching Martian summer could bring new life to the mission.
prove the rover has remained stationary for a while.
The MRO images show that"it's covered by the sand and the dust, so it definitely hurts its ability to transform sunlight to electricity," Xu said. "We have to wait, because now it's spring, and later, that'd be the summer season on Mars. Then it should receive more sunlight and the temperature also increases," Yi said."When the battery is fully charged, then the rover or the instrument may operate again."
Zhurong has active means of cleaning its solar arrays, but its period of inactivity in an area prone to dust storms has apparently impacted its ability to generate electricity and retain heat. Zhurong does not have a radioisotope heater unit, like other rovers including China'sRELATED STORIES:
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