April 24 is China Space Day, and this year's theme is "Spacelights Dreams".
"Many of China's spacecraft are named after myths." Tian Zhaoyuan, a professor at the Folklore Research Institute of East China Normal University, mentioned a small "Easter egg" in the mainland's aerospace industry. From the first artificial earth satellite "Dongfanghong I", to the first moon-orbiting satellite "Chang'e-1", to the lunar rover "Yutu", the Mars rover "Zhurong", the solar exploration science and technology experiment satellite "Xihe"... China's most advanced spacecraft are closely linked to the oldest myths. As China's space industry conquers fortresses, the creation myths left by these ancestors have also shined new light.
"Mythology is the great dream of the Chinese nation and the imagination of our ancestors for the origin of our world. Today, technology is the way to achieve our dreams. Tian Zhaoyuan believes that it is no accident that high-tech spacecraft are named after mythical 'gods', and it is a "dream" that is in the same vein.
On April 24, 1970, China's first artificial earth satellite Dongfanghong I was successfully launched, and China Space Day was scheduled for April 24, which is to commemorate this great first step in the process of the mainland's space industry.
"Dongfang Hong, the sun rises..." Dongfang Hong No. 1 was running in orbit and played the song "Dongfang Hong". It is a song in honor of leader Mao Zedong and also praises the sun.
"Playing the melody of 'Dongfang Hong' in space was a scientific and technological performance and a cultural expression at that time, spreading the Chinese sun myth through music." Tian Zhaoyuan said.
Simulation of the Xihe satellite. Courtesy of Shanghai Academy of Aerospace Technology of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
More closely related to the sun myth is the "Xihe". On October 14, 2021, the solar exploration science and technology experiment satellite "Xihe" was successfully launched, and China officially entered the era of space exploration.
"Xihe" is the sun goddess in traditional Chinese mythology. The record of Xihe is found in the Classic of Mountains and Seas and the Great Wild South Classic: "Beyond the southeast sea, between the sweet waters, there is the country of Xihe. There is a woman named Xihe, Fang Ri bathed in Ganyuan, Xi He, the wife of Emperor Jun, born for ten days. "Xi He is described here as the mother of the sun, giving birth to ten suns.
By the time of the Chu Ci, Xi He's identity changed, and Qu Yuan wrote in the Chu Ci Tianwen: "Xi He is not yang, Ruohua He Guang. "Xi He became a god who drove for the sun, and he traveled on the sun, and if the flower of the wood would shine, the light would come to the world." The name "Xihe" is taken from this, "imitating Xihe and riding the Pegasus, aiming to graze the stars in the long sky", symbolizing the origin and expansion of China's exploration of the sun.
On October 24, 2007, Chang'e-1 was launched at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, the first artificial moon orbiting satellite in China's lunar exploration program, named after the ancient Chinese mythological figure Chang'e. In December 2013, China's first lunar rover, Yutu, landed on the moon with the Chang'e-3 probe, leaving China's first footprint on the moon.
The Jade Rabbit lunar rover. Image from: Voice of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the official microblog of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Back in ancient times, the sun and the moon played an important role in people's production and life, and curiosity about the moon was engraved in the blood of the ancestors. The "Chang'e Myth" is undoubtedly a representative of the ancients' imagination of the moon. According to legend, Hou Yi received the elixir from the Queen Mother of the West, and his wife Chang'e stole the elixir of immortality and soared to the moon to become the moon god. The moon, which hung coldly in the sky at night, was a feminine goddess in the eyes of the ancients. "Chang'e" carries the dream of the Chinese nation to explore the moon, is not it the Chang'e who ran to the moon in the myth thousands of years ago?
Zhu Rong represents a milestone in Chinese exploration of Mars. On July 23, 2020, Zhu Rong was launched at the Wenchang Cosmodrome in China. On July 24, the Lunar Exploration and Aerospace Engineering Center of the China National Space Administration launched the global name of China's first Mars rover. Among the names that lasted for more than half a year, the name "Zhu Rong" stood out. On the opening day of China Space Day on April 24, 2021, China's first rover was officially named "Zhu Rong", which means "Vulcan Zhu Rong landed on Mars".
On April 24, at the online launching ceremony of the 2022 "China Space Day", the United Nations Mars-themed stamps were released, including the landforms of China's Zhurong rover, Zhurong landing platform, and Tianwen-1 pre-selected landing area.
"The fire god Zhu Rong represents the spirit of the blue wisps of the road and the creation of the wilderness." Tian Zhaoyuan said that during the fight against the new crown epidemic in 2020, the naming of the "Vulcan Mountain" hospital reflects the courage of the Chinese people to fight the epidemic, and the "Zhurong" that flew to Mars also represents our determination to explore the unknown, "The image of fire is vitality, passion, and the basic form of all energy, all aspects of our lives are inseparable from fire, we commemorate Vulcan today, naming the Mars rover with 'Zhu rong', is also the worship and awe of natural forces." ”
Human exploration of space is a high degree of combination of dreams and reality, the most intense looking up at the sky, but also the most down-to-earth. Entering space, landing on the moon, and landing on Mars are the three major steps for Chinese to explore the universe, and Chinese chose the sun god, the moon god Chang'e, and the fire god Zhu Rong to commemorate these three steps. "It turns out that the myth of the sun, the moon and the myth of the Vulcan can be said to be the great dream of the Chinese nation. Today, technology is the way to realize dreams. Tian Zhaoyuan said.
"Myth is a great dream, and spaceflight is a great practice." Myths underpin the expression of our technology. "Not only space technology, but also in other cutting-edge fields of technology, myths are also reflected." For example, Huawei's Hongmeng system, Kunpeng chip, etc., are also named after myths, and only myths can support their image. ”
Now that it is China Space Day, the theme of "Spacelights Dreams" is so in line with the millennium exploration of the Chinese nation. On April 14, the Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft returned to Earth, and Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping, and Ye Guangfu, three astronauts, completed the achievement of staying in space for half a year. "I think we human beings are moving forward step by step towards our dreams, and myths are always full of ideals, illuminating us, leading the development of science and technology with an ideal world." Tian Zhaoyuan said