Tianwen
Editor's Note:
The Chinese people's curiosity about the infinity of beyond and the vast universe goes back over 2,000 years. In the long poem "Tianwen," Qu Yuan (about 340-278 BC), one of the great poets of ancient China, asked a series of questions in verse involving the sky, stars, natural phenomena, myths and the real world.
On Thursday, China successfully launched its first Mars probe mission via its state-of-the-art launch vehicle the Long March 5, aiming to achieve orbiting, landing and roving of the Red Planet, which is at least some 55 million kilometers away from Earth, all in one mission, marking a first in humanity.
According to the China National Space Administration, all of China's planetary exploration missions in the future will be named Tianwen, which means "Questioning heaven" in Chinese, demonstrating the Chinese nation's perseverance in pursuing truth and science.