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China's space programme
ChinaScience

Europe’s Mars orbiter to read the signals in ‘blind’ dates with China’s rover

  • The Chinese probe Zhu Rong will use Europe’s Mars Express to send data to Earth in series of communication tests
  • Held in five time windows, the tests will be ‘blind’ because the two spacecraft use incompatible frequencies

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The Chinese Mars rover Zhu Rong next to its landing platform on the red planet’s surface. Photo: EPA-EFE
Liu Zhen
The Mars probes of China and Europe will collaborate in five communication tests next month, the European Space Agency said.
In the planned tests, the Chinese rover Zhu Rong, which has been working on Mars’ surface since May, will send data to the ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft, to relay it to Earth to pass on to the China National Space Administration (CNSA) for analysis, according to the ESA on Wednesday.

These communications will be “blind”, given that the Zhu Rong cannot detect the Mars Express – which has been circling Mars in orbit since 2003 – because of incompatible frequencies.

“This is also a chance for the Mars Express team to test a backup method for communicating with Mars landers, designed over a decade ago but never before tested live in orbit,” the ESA said.

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First video from China’s Mars rover Zhu Rong shows descent and exploration

First video from China’s Mars rover Zhu Rong shows descent and exploration

The five communications are scheduled for November 7, 16, 18, 20 and 22, as the Mars Express flies over the Utopia Planitia on the Mars surface, where Zhu Rong is based. Each session between the two will last about 10 minutes, and the timings were chosen by the Zhu Rong team, the ESA said.

When the ESA orbiter flies over the Chinese rover, it is programmed to send down a “hello” signal to initiate communication. The Zhu Rong will not be able to receive this because of the different radio systems, but it can send up its signal in the scheduled time windows in a frequency the Mars Express’ radio system can collect.

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