Mission patches are a decades-old custom in spaceflight. They’ll vary from the figurative to the summary, prompting helpful insights or feeding confusion. Some are simply plain bizarre.
Ars revealed a narrative a few months in the past on spaceflight patches from NASA, SpaceX, Russia, and the NRO, the US authorities’s spy satellite tv for pc company, which is answerable for among the most head-scratching mission logos.
Till not too long ago, China’s entries within the realm of spaceflight patches usually lacked the originality present in patches from the West. For instance, a sequence of patches for China’s human spaceflight missions used a formulaic design with a round form and a mixture of purple and blue. The patch for China’s most up-to-date Shenzhou crew to the nation’s Tiangong house station final month lastly broke the mould with a triangular form after China’s human spaceflight company put the patch up for a public vote.
However there’s a captivating set of latest patches Chinese language officers launched for a sequence of launches with high secret satellites during the last two months. These 4 patches depict Buddhist gods with a way of artistry and sharp colours that stand aside from China’s earlier spaceflight emblems, and maybe—or maybe not—they will inform us one thing concerning the nature of the missions they signify.
Guardians of the Dharma
The 4 patches present the 4 Heavenly Kings, protector deities in Buddhism who guard towards evil forces within the 4 cardinal instructions, in response to the Kyoto Nationwide Museum. The gods additionally protect the Dharma, the teachings of the Buddha, from exterior threats.
These gods have totally different names, however in China, they’re referred to as Duōwén, Zēngzhǎng, Chíguó, and Guăngmù. Duōwén is the commander and the guardian of the north, the “one who listens to many teachings,” who is usually depicted with an umbrella. Zēngzhǎng, guardian of the south, is a god of progress proven carrying a sword. The protector of the east is Chíguó, defender of the nation, who holds a stringed musical instrument. And guarding the west is Guăngmù, an all-seeing god normally depicted with a serpent.
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