Chinese Mars Rover Beams Back First Photos After Landing

The photos taken by cameras attached to the rover showed the obstacle-avoidance equipment and solar panels on the vehicle, as well as the texture of the surface of Mars.

Solar panels against an alien landscape, ramps and rods pointing at the Martian horizon -- China's first probe on the Red Planet has beamed back its first "selfies" after its history-making landing last week. The Zhurong rover was carried into the Martian atmosphere in a lander on Saturday, in the first ever successful probe landing by any country on its first Mars mission. Zhurong, named after a mythical Chinese fire god, arrived a few months behind the United States' latest probe to Mars -- Perseverance -- and has been celebrated in China as a milestone in its ascent to space superpower status. The China National Space Administration on Wednesday published the images taken by cameras attached to the rover, which showed the obstacle-avoidance equipment and solar panels on the vehicle, as well as the texture of the Martian surface.