China names Mars rover for traditional fire god

BEIJING (AP) — China’s space agency says its first Mars rover will be named Zhurong after a traditional fire god. The rover is aboard the Tianwen-1 space probe that arrived in orbit around Mars in February and is due to land in May to look for evidence of life. The China National Space Agency says the rover’s title fits with the Chinese name for Mars, which translates as fire star. China would become the third country after the former Soviet Union and the United States to put a robot rover on Mars.