Wukong, Tiangong, Tianwen… Do you know where the names of Chinese space programs come from?
Wukong, the Dark Matter Particle Explorer satellite (暗物质粒子探测卫星), is named after Chinese superhero Monkey King. According to Journey to the West, Monkey King has a pair of sharp eyes which can tell the difference between good and evil. The Wukong satellite is just as sharp-eyed as Monkey King to help scientists search for dark matter in space.
The name of the space station, Tiangong, means “Heavenly Palace”. In Chinese myths(神话), this is the home of Tian Di. Now Tiangong Space Station is a home for Chinese astronauts in space. And China welcomes foreign astronauts to Tiangong so that they can work together.
Tianwen, China’s Mars missions (任务), gets its name from the poem Tianwen by Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan is a well-known poet from ancient China. In Tianwen, he had the questions about the sky, stars, nature, myths and the real world, showing his hunger (渴望) for truth. Perhaps the Tianwen missions will end up answering some of Qu Yuan’s questions.
If you look into more names of Chinese space programs, you will find that they all have beautiful meanings. We, the Chinese people, have a long-cherished (珍藏已久的) space dream. So the naming of Chinese space programs is taken very seriously.
【小题1】What is the Wukong satellite used for?【小题2】Does China welcome foreign astronauts to Tiangong Space Station to work?
【小题3】Where is the name of China’s Mars missions from?
【小题4】Why do we take the naming of Chinese space programs seriously?
【小题5】What does the passage mainly talk about?
