Photos show Chinese rover on dusty, rocky Martian surface

BEIJING (AP) — The dusty, rocky Martian surface and a Chinese rover and lander bearing small national flags were seen in photos the rover took on the red planet. China’s space agency said the Zhurong rover placed a remote camera a short distance away to take a group portrait. The spacecraft carrying the rover landed on Mars last month. The orbiter and lander both display small Chinese flags and the lander has outlines of the mascots for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics. The rover is surveying an area known as Utopia Planitia, especially searching for signs of water or ice that could lend clues as to whether Mars ever sustained life.