CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -Radar images reveal clues to the history of a largely unexplored region. China’s Zhurong rover has peered deep under the surface of Mars, finding evidence of two major floods that probably shaped the region the robot has been exploring since it landed in May 2021.

Detailed explanation-2: -Zhurong landed in a large plain in Mars’ northern hemisphere called Utopia Planitia on May 15, 2021 – where NASA’s Viking 2 lander touched down in 1976.

Detailed explanation-3: -The lander, carrying the rover, performed a successful soft-landing on Mars on 14 May 2021, making China the third country to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on Mars and the second one to establish stable communications from the surface, after the United States.

Detailed explanation-4: -There have also been studies for a possible human mission to Mars, including a landing, but none have been attempted. Soviet Union’s Mars 3, which landed in 1971, was the first successful Mars landing. As of May 2021, the Soviet Union, United States, and China have conducted Mars landings successfully.

Detailed explanation-5: -Curiosity carries the biggest, most advanced instruments for scientific studies ever sent to the Martian surface. The history of Martian climate and geology is written in the chemistry and structure of the rocks and soil. Curiosity reads this record by analyzing powdered samples drilled from rocks.