China has officially named the country’s first Mars rover Zhurong after thegod of fire and war in Chinese mythology, China National SpaceAdministration said on Saturday.

“On Saturday, a ceremony marking the opening of the Space Day of China tookplace in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, during which the name of the firstChinese Mars rover was announced. It was chosen based on the results of aninternational selection campaign, expert assessment and online voting. Therover was named Zhurong”, the statement said, adding that the namesymbolized China’s intention “to light the fire of space research”.

The global campaign to collect variants of names for the first Chinese Marsrover was launched in July 2020, online voting on the proposed names tookplace from 20 January to 28 February 2021.

In February, China’s Mars probe Tianwen-1 successfully entered Mars’parking orbit. The mission launched in July 2020 includes an orbiter andthe rover, which will conduct exploratory works on the planet’s surfaceupon landing.

If everything goes as planned, the first findings will be reported back toEarth within 2021. Scientists are planning to study the atmosphere, relief,geological characteristics and features of the red planet’s magnetic field,which will help scientists get a clue about the origin and evolution ofMars, and the entire solar system.

The Space Day of China also coincides with the 51st anniversary of thenation’s entry into space. On 24 April 1970, China’s first space satelliteDongfanghong-1 was put into orbit.