Nanjing Purple Mountain Observatory, in east China's Jiangsu Province, hopes to name one of the asteroids it discovered in honor of China's first astronaut, Yang Liwei.

The application has been given the go-ahead domestically, and the Observatory is preparing the application file which will be sent to the International Astronomical Union Naming Convention for Asteroids, for final approval.

The Nanjing Purple Mountain Observatory has discovered about 1,000 asteroids, among which more than 100 can be named by the Observatory.

(CRI April 1, 2004)