China's National Space Administration named its first Mars rover "Zhurong" - after the god of fire in ancient Chinese mythology as it prepares to join the U.S. on the Red Planet.   

The CNSA announced the name of the rover on Sunday during the country's National Space Day. Officials said the name appropriately echoes the Chinese name of the red planet, which is "Huoxing" or "the planet of fire" in English. The CNSA said Zhurong was chosen among a list of names chosen by public voting, which opened in January.

"Fire brought warmth and brightness to the ancestors of humankind, and fire lit up human civilization. Naming China's first Mars rover after the god of fire signifies igniting the flame of China's planetary exploration," the CNSA's deputy director, Wu Yanhua, said.

When separated, the characters for the name "Zhurong" also have appropriate meanings, officials said. "Zhu" means "wish," while "Rong" translates to "cooperation," Wu said. Officials said wish expresses the good wishes of mankind's exploration, while cooperation reflects the country's aim of building a community for the future of humanity.

The naming of spacecraft and space vehicles in China have all been linked to Chinese traditional culture. This includes spacecraft such as the Tianwen, Beidou, and the Chang'e.

China launched the Zhurong aboard the Tianwen-1 Mars probe in July last year. The spacecraft entered the Martian orbit on February 24 this year. The vehicle consists of a rover, a lander, and an orbiter. The rover is expected to land on Mars in mid-May. 

The CNSA said the orbiter is equipped with seven kinds of scientific instruments. This includes two remote-sensing cameras, Mars Mineralogy Spectrometer, Mars Magnetometer, a Mars-Orbiting Subsurface Exploration Radar, a Mars Energetic Particle Analyzer and a Mars Ion and Neutral Particle Analyzer.

The six-wheeled solar-powered Zhurong is also equipped with multiple scientific instruments. Onboard the 240-kilogram rover has a Multispectral Camera, a Mars-Rover Subsurface Exploration Radar, a Mars Magnetic Field Detector, a Mars Surface Composition Detector and a Mars Meteorology Monitor.

The CNSA said the mission's goal will be to map the morphology and geological structure of the planet. The rover will also be investigating the soil and water-ice distribution on the planet's surface. The rover will also measure the planet's climate, internal structure and ionosphere.