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April 20, 2021

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Mars rover name to be announced

China will announce the name of its first Mars rover on the Space Day of China, which falls on April 24, according to the China National Space Administration.

Nanjing, capital city of east China’s Jiangsu Province, will host the main events marking this year’s Space Day of China, Lu Bo, a CNSA official, said yesterday.

The events include the opening ceremony, bilateral talks on the international lunar research station, and the fourth China Space Conference.

China launched Tianwen-1 on July 23, 2020. The spacecraft, consisting of an orbiter, a lander and a rover, entered the parking orbit of Mars after performing an orbital maneuver on February 24.

The global campaign of naming the rover kicked off last July. Netizens at home and abroad were invited to vote from 10 choices from January 20 to February 28.

Last month, three possible names emerged, with “Zhurong,” a fire god in ancient Chinese mythology, topping the list.

In 2016, China set April 24 as the country’s Space Day to mark the launch of its first satellite “Dongfanghong-1” into space on April 24, 1970.

The activities on Space Day have become a window for the Chinese public and the world to better understand China’s aerospace progress.




 

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