Manned spaceflight and space science are heading in both directions
2024-10-17
The manned lunar exploration mission has been fully implemented, and the Chinese dream of landing on the moon has become a step by step; The launch of Shenzhou-19 is imminent, and China's space station is about to usher in another "space handover"... In the golden autumn season, China's manned spaceflight industry is bustling with new achievements and progress that are remarkable. The manned spaceflight project and space science mutually promote and develop together, providing strong support for the construction of a strong aerospace and technological country. Manned lunar exploration demonstrates great national responsibility. Recently, at the 3rd Spacesuit Technology Forum held in Chongqing, the China Manned Space Engineering Office launched a naming campaign for lunar suits to the public and publicly revealed the appearance of Chinese lunar suits for the first time. The metallic luster of the main body of the lunar suit is full of technological sense, and the red decorative bands on the upper and lower limbs enhance the visual sense of power and slimming effect. The upper limb decorative band is designed in an elegant and graceful "flying sky" ribbon shape, while the lower limb decorative band is designed in the shape of a rocket launch tail flame, forming a soaring momentum. At present, the lunar landing phase of China's manned lunar exploration project has been fully launched, and it is planned to achieve the first Chinese landing on the moon by 2030. The appearance of the lunar suit showcases the phased achievements of China's manned lunar exploration mission and marks a new stage of development for China's space suit technology. Spacesuits are necessary protective clothing for manned space launch, return, and extravehicular activities, providing life support and operational support for astronauts. Its development involves a wide range of disciplines and complex technologies, and currently only a few countries in the world have the ability to independently develop space suits. According to Li Meng from the China Astronaut Research and Training Center, since the development of the lunar suit was launched in 2020, it has focused on comprehensive protection in complex environments and the improvement of human suit capabilities. With the goals of lightweight, miniaturization, and high safety and reliability, it has broken through multiple key technologies, established an overall technical plan, and laid a solid foundation for the smooth implementation of China's first manned lunar mission. Currently, Chinese scientific and technological personnel are working hard to tackle and innovate around the manned lunar landing mission, contributing Chinese wisdom to the peaceful exploration of space for mankind. Lin Xiqiang, spokesperson for the China Manned Space Engineering and deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, stated that manned lunar exploration is a strategic practice to promote the progress of human civilization and demonstrate the responsibility of a great power. The Chinese first landed on the moon. To give full play to the unique advantages of astronauts' exploration activities on the moon, it will provide China with a broader historical opportunity to explore extraterrestrial objects. It is reported that in terms of space science experiments, China will coordinate the use of flight tests before the first manned moon landing and the opportunity for manned moon landing missions to carry out large-scale space science experiments. At present, preliminary scientific goals have been planned in three fields and nine directions: lunar science, lunar based science, and resource exploration and utilization. Yang Xiaoyu, Director of the Systems Engineering Department of the National Space Administration, said that the International Lunar Research Station is currently in the feasibility study and demonstration stage, and is preparing to be built in two stages. The first stage is the basic stage, which involves building a monthly comprehensive scientific research platform with basic functions and elements, and possessing the ability to conduct regular scientific experiments and verify resource development and utilization technologies; The second stage is the expansion stage, which aims to build a large-scale lunar based scientific research platform that is unmanned in the long term, manned in the short term, fully functional, and stable in operation, with the ability to conduct scientific research, resource development, and technology verification on the entire lunar surface. The October manned space lunar calendar released by the China Manned Space Engineering Office, which focuses on cutting-edge fields, shows that China plans to launch the Shenzhou-19 manned spacecraft at the end of this month, and the Shenzhou-18 crew, who has been on a space mission for nearly half a year, will begin their return journey. In April of this year, astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu from Shenzhou 18 entered the Chinese space station. Currently, various space science experiments and experimental tasks are progressing smoothly. Astronauts used the high-temperature materials science experimental cabinet inside the Dream Sky module to continue conducting experiments and completed tasks such as sample replacement. Conducting relevant research in the microgravity environment of space is of great significance for understanding the intrinsic laws of material physics and chemical processes, enriching and improving the basic theory of materials science, guiding and promoting the preparation process and production of foundation materials, improving material properties, and promoting the development of ground related material industries. Lin Xiqiang introduced that after more than 30 years of practice, China's manned spaceflight project has successfully achieved the engineering goals of the "three-step" development strategy, and has also achieved a number of scientific achievements with international advanced level. At present, the Tiangong Space Station, as a national space laboratory, has a total of 14 scientific experiment cabinets and 5 application payload universal support platforms inside the cabin, and is equipped with 3 exposure devices and other payload adapters outside the cabin. At present, the space station has conducted over a hundred scientific experiments in orbit and returned more than a hundred scientific samples through six batches of Shenzhou spacecraft, achieving a breakthrough. For example, for the first time in China, a dual aquatic ecosystem of zebrafish and dinoflagellates has been achieved, laying the foundation for future exploration of closed ecosystems on extraterrestrial planets; For the first time in orbit, the preparation of an all-optical trap Bose Einstein condensate system has been achieved, and the world's first space optical lattice quantum simulation experimental platform has been built. These achievements have contributed Chinese wisdom to human cognition to a new level Lin Xiqiang said. It is reported that in the next decade, the Chinese space station will face the forefront of world technology and major national needs, focusing on four major research fields: space life and human body research, microgravity physics science, space astronomy and earth science, and new space technologies. 32 research themes will be arranged, and thousands of scientific research and application projects will be implemented in a rolling manner. Through these research projects, major scientific discoveries and breakthroughs in key technologies will be made, and the transformation of achievements will be continuously promoted to obtain application benefits. Continuously deepen human understanding of the universe According to the National Space Science Medium and Long Term Development Plan (2024-2050) jointly issued by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the National Space Administration and the China Manned Space Engineering Office (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"), China's manned space missions in the future will produce more space science achievements. According to the plan, in the first phase (2004-2027), China will operate the Chinese Space Station, carry out manned lunar exploration, the fourth phase of lunar exploration projects, and planetary exploration projects, demonstrate and approve 5-8 space science satellite missions, and form several original achievements with important international influence; In the second phase (2028-2035), we will continue to operate the Chinese space station, demonstrate the implementation of scientific missions such as manned lunar exploration and the International Lunar Research Station, demonstrate the implementation of about 15 space science satellite missions, and achieve original results that rank among the top in the world; In the third stage (2036-2050), more than 30 space science tasks will be demonstrated and implemented, with important areas reaching the world's leading level. Wang Chi, an academician of the CAS Member and director of the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that at present, the original achievements of China's space science have begun to show a trend of multiple breakthroughs. The implementation of tasks such as the China Space Station has promoted Chinese scientists to make important scientific research progress and achievements in dark matter particle detection, quantum mechanics testing, high-energy astrophysics experiments, solar "one magnet and two bursts" observation, high-energy time-domain astronomical observation, the formation and evolution of the moon, the Martian environment and geological structure, the laws of material movement and life activities in the space environment, deepened human understanding of the universe, and also marked that China is approaching the center of the world space science stage. (New Society)
Edit:Yao Jue Responsible editor:Xie Tunan
Source:Overseas Edition of People's Daily
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