INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Mission patches are a decades-old tradition in spaceflight
They can range from the figurative to the abstract, prompting valuable insights or feeding confusion
government's spy satellite agency, which is responsible for some of the most head-scratching mission logos.Until recently, China's entries
in the realm of spaceflight patches often lacked the originality found in patches from the West
For example, a series of patches for China's human spaceflight missions used a formulaic design with a circular shape and a mix of red and
The patch for China's most recent Shenzhou crew to the country's Tiangong space station last month finally broke the mold with a triangular
shape after China's human spaceflight agency put the patch up for a public vote.But there's a fascinating set of new patches Chinese
officials released for a series of launches with top secret satellites over the last two months
These four patches depict Buddhist gods with a sense of artistry and sharp colors that stand apart from China's previous spaceflight
Four Heavenly Kings, protector deities in Buddhism who guard against evil forces in the four cardinal directions, according to the Kyoto
The gods also shield the Dharma, the teachings of the Buddha, from external threats.These gods have different names, but in China, they are
Z?ngzh?ng, guardian of the south, is a god of growth shown carrying a sword
