The China National Space Administration (CNSA) released on Wednesday two photos taken by its Zhurong rover on the surface of Mars. The Zhurong landed on the Red Planet on May 15, making China only the second country to successfully put a rover – indeed, a functional space probe of any kind – on the planet’s surface.

Zhurong landed at a site in the southern region of the great Utopia Planitia plain. Utopia Planitia is in the planet’s northern hemisphere. It was China’s first attempt to land a probe on Mars.

The rover is still on its lander, undergoing systems check-out, before it rolls off its landing platform and on to the surface of Mars. The first photograph is a monochrome image, taken by Zhurong’s forward-mounted obstacle avoidance camera, which is fitted with a wide-angle lens. This shows that the landing platform has successfully extended its disembarkation ramps for the rover. It also shows the terrain ahead of Zhurong.

The second photograph is in colour, and was taken by the rover’s rear-mounted navigation camera. This confirms that Zhurong’s solar panels and antennas have deployed, as intended. It also shows Martian soil and rocks.

The photos were relayed back to Earth by the Tianwen-1 spacecraft, orbiting the Red Planet. Tianwen-1 carried Zhurong, in its landing capsule, from Earth. The orbiter also send back video of it releasing the landing capsule.

The release of the first Mars photos from Zhurong was greeted with a warm response from the CNSA’s US counterpart, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa). “Congratulations to the [CNSA] on receiving the first images from the Zhurong Mars rover!” affirmed Nasa administrator Bill Nelson. “As the international community of robotic explorers on Mars grows, the United States and the world look forward to discoveries Zhurong will make to advance humanity’s knowledge of the Red Planet.”