Meet ‘Zhurong’: China names Tianwen-1 Mars rover sooner than mid-Could perchance also landing strive
(Image credit score: CNSA/CLEP)
China has named its first-ever Mars rover “Zhurong” after an mature fire god sooner than a landing strive on the Crimson Planet in Could perchance also.
The China Nationwide Residence Administration (CNSA) published the name at the sixth China Residence Day held in Nanjing on Saturday (April 24).
Zhurong was basically the most well-appreciated of 10 shortlisted names for a public vote that opened in January, and that preference was backed by an educated panel and the CNSA itself.
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Going with the fireside god is exact, for the Chinese name for Mars, “Huoxing,” literally manner “fire significant individual.”
The roughly 530-lb. (240 kilograms) solar-powered Zhurong rover is fragment of the Tianwen-1 mission, which launched in July 2020 and arrived in orbit spherical Mars in February.
The Tianwen-1 orbiter has been collecting excessive-resolution photos of Zhurong’s purpose landing spot in Utopia Planitia. The landing strive is anticipated in mid-Could perchance also, in accordance with a senior Chinese condo scientist.
The rover carries panoramic and multispectral cameras and devices to analyze the composition of rocks. Zhurong will also investigate subsurface traits with ground-penetrating radar, if all goes in accordance with conception.
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