China's Space Program News Thread
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I have a feeling if US and Chinese scientist talk to each other more, thing like this won't be a surprise. Now people are basically find things out at same pace of English Language Xinhua reports.
Quickie
Colonel
"Yutu", Jade Hare, is leading.
BEIJING, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Ten possible names for China's first moon rover, likely to be launched in December, have come out after a month-long online poll and debate of a jury board.
"Yutu," or jade hare in Chinese, tops the list while "Tansuo," or explore, and "Lanyue," or catch moon, came at the second and third places, said Sunday's Beijing Times.
Chinese at home and abroad were wooed to submit proposals for the name of the lunar rover at and from Sept. 25 to Oct. 25.
About 190,000 proposals were received and a 14-member jury board selected the ten most popular after heated debates and several rounds of vote on Saturday, said the newspaper report.
Yutu is a white pet rabbit accompanying the goddess Chang'e on the moon in a popular ancient Chinese myth.
In the next week, another online poll will elect the three most popular names and the final result will be announced in November.
The moon rover is scheduled to be on board of the Chang'e-3 moon probe, which will soft-land on the moon.
The rover has two wings, stands on six wheels, weighs 140 kg and will be powered by solar energy.
In an interview last month, Zhao Xiaojin, director of the aerospace department of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, depicted the lunar rover an orbiter adaptable to harsh environments; a highly efficient and integrated robot; and a high altitude "patrolman" carrying the dreams of Asia.
"When it arrives in lunar orbit on board a lander, the rover will choose the best landing site and gently touch down the moon's surface, using optical and microwave sensors to avoid rocks and craters," Zhao said.
The Chang'e-3 moon probe is part of the second stage of China's three-stage lunar mission, orbiting, landing, and analyzing lunar soil and stone samples.
BEIJING, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Ten possible names for China's first moon rover, likely to be launched in December, have come out after a month-long online poll and debate of a jury board.
"Yutu," or jade hare in Chinese, tops the list while "Tansuo," or explore, and "Lanyue," or catch moon, came at the second and third places, said Sunday's Beijing Times.
Chinese at home and abroad were wooed to submit proposals for the name of the lunar rover at and from Sept. 25 to Oct. 25.
About 190,000 proposals were received and a 14-member jury board selected the ten most popular after heated debates and several rounds of vote on Saturday, said the newspaper report.
Yutu is a white pet rabbit accompanying the goddess Chang'e on the moon in a popular ancient Chinese myth.
In the next week, another online poll will elect the three most popular names and the final result will be announced in November.
The moon rover is scheduled to be on board of the Chang'e-3 moon probe, which will soft-land on the moon.
The rover has two wings, stands on six wheels, weighs 140 kg and will be powered by solar energy.
In an interview last month, Zhao Xiaojin, director of the aerospace department of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, depicted the lunar rover an orbiter adaptable to harsh environments; a highly efficient and integrated robot; and a high altitude "patrolman" carrying the dreams of Asia.
"When it arrives in lunar orbit on board a lander, the rover will choose the best landing site and gently touch down the moon's surface, using optical and microwave sensors to avoid rocks and craters," Zhao said.
The Chang'e-3 moon probe is part of the second stage of China's three-stage lunar mission, orbiting, landing, and analyzing lunar soil and stone samples.
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Jade hare? Come on. For a power preaching dialectic materialism and international cooperation in space, the chinese should pick a name that has at least some scientific and international resonance.
plawolf
Lieutenant General
And when you say 'international resonance' of course you mean western resonance really.
China has a long and rich history and culture and it is only right that they pick the names for their spacecraft and landers based on that history and culture instead of pandering to the west.
After all, how much 'international resonance' did Sputnik have before launch? Yet everyone who is the least bit interested in space exploration and quite a lot more knows the name.
Conversely, how much true international resonance was there to names such as Apollo or Columbia outside the western world? Not a great deal.
Equation
Lieutenant General
Yet the name Apollo and Columbia are Greek and Latin words respectively. It may be western, but not American.
well, consider that Chang'er fly around in orbit and Yutu round around on the ground, it kinda makes sense.
Considering all the Apollos (Greek Myth), Artemis (Greek Myth), Kaguya (Japanese Myth) etc. Naming probe as there is no problem naming the rover Yutu. Either that or have the boring Soviet names like Luna-XX or Inidan names like Chandrayaan. In that case the name would be YueQiuChe-1, or moon rover-1. How boring is that?
Considering all the Apollos (Greek Myth), Artemis (Greek Myth), Kaguya (Japanese Myth) etc. Naming probe as there is no problem naming the rover Yutu. Either that or have the boring Soviet names like Luna-XX or Inidan names like Chandrayaan. In that case the name would be YueQiuChe-1, or moon rover-1. How boring is that?
TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
as some like to point out, little is remembered of American culture and mythology prior to 1492.
European settlement included integration of European ideals and concepts of the enlightenment which harkened back to the philosophy of Greek and Latin based ideas lost in the European dark ages and recovered from the Islamic scholars of the crusades. Sometimes at sword point mind you. However that relearning set into place the thirst for knowing that ignited the minds of individuals who would land on the Americas and set in place the formation of the culture that would be the basis of the founders of the American nation. So naming based on Greek and Latin mythology for the US makes sense. After all the Us is a culture that is based on not just English but Spanish, French, Russian, Italian, African, Chinese, Russian, Turkish, Native, Dutch, Scottish, Finnish, , Polish... Ecta... Ecta.... So a international name or bland scientific name or name whose roots were based in a early root makes sense for the USA as well as European nations like the UK and France for example.
by contrast Chinese cultures and many other major Asian cultures have been protect from multiple cultural injections by emigration of large numbers of alien peoples due to xenophobia on both sides, as well as the relatively short time of availability of true pan global trade and transport. Isolated location vial land route and a late industrial development.
so for the Chinese government space programs use of a cultural heritage name works.
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