Yu Chunshun (1951–1996; ) was a Chinese explorer. He died of dehydration in 1996 while searching for a lost oasis in the

Lop Nur Lop Nur or Lop Nor (from a Mongolian name meaning "Lop Lake", where "Lop" is a toponym of unknown origin) is a former salt lake, now largely dried up, located in the eastern fringe of the Tarim Basin, between the Taklamakan and Kumtag deserts ...

desert in

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

province,

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. His body was discovered only two kilometers away from his next buried cache of food and water. Asteroid 83600 Yuchunshun, discovered by

Bill Yeung William Kwong Yu Yeung (born 1960; also known simply as Bill Yeung; ) is a Hong Kong-born, Canadian amateur astronomer with telescopes based in the United States. He is a prolific discoverer of asteroids and also discovered the comet 172P/Yeung ...

in 2001 was named in his memory. The official was published by the

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Function ...

on 18 June 2008 ().

References

External links

Death notice in ''Asia Week'' magazine
Chinese explorers 1951 births 1996 deaths People from Shanghai {{China-bio-stub