China's first Mars rover, Zhurong, has driven down from its landing platform to the Martian surface, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced on May 22.

Zhurong's first successful drive made China the second country after the United States to land and operate a rover on Mars.

According to the telemetry data, Zhurong set its wheels on Martian soil at 10:40 am (Beijing Time) on May 22, the CNSA said.

China's Tianwen-1 mission, consisting of an orbiter, a lander and a rover, was launched on July 23, 2020. The lander carrying the rover touched down in the southern part of Utopia Planitia, a vast plain on the northern hemisphere of Mars, on May 15.