Explained: How the Chinese landed a rover on Mars in first attempt

Nasa is the only agency that had managed this prior to Zhurong. The lander is completely autonomous and cannot even be monitored in anything approaching real time.

China has provided an impressive demonstration of its deep space ca­pabilities by landing a rover on Mars in its first attempt. It is only the second nation after the US to have pulled off a successful Mars landing. The six-wheeled, solar-powered Zhurong rover weighs about 240 kg and its stated technological mission is to collect and analyse rock samples and look for water.

Zhurong was launched from the Tianwen-1 orbiter after three months of preparation. Tianwen reached Mars in February after being launched in July 2020.  It went into orbit around the red planet after the seven-plus-month trip.

Multiple Mars landing missions