(Interview between the NPC and CPPCC) How will the Chinese space station be opened to the world for cooperation?

　　China News Service, Beijing, March 10th, title: How will the Chinese space station open up to the world for cooperation?

　　Author Guo Chaokai

　　"China's manned space business and space station project, uphold the purpose of serving the development of science and advancing the community with a shared future for mankind, and welcome global scientists to participate." During the two sessions, Zhou Jianping, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the chief designer of China's manned space project, was accepting In an exclusive interview, a reporter from Xin News Agency reiterated the determination of China's space station to open up to the world.

　　It is the dream of many Chinese to build China's own space station.

According to the plan, China will complete the on-orbit assembly and construction of the basic configuration of the space station through 11 missions this year and next.

From being turned away by the International Space Station, to the Chinese Space Station's initiative to open its doors to scientists around the world, China's manned space project has embarked on a path of self-reliance.

　　Since the establishment and implementation of China's manned space project in 1992, generations of astronauts have continued to struggle.

From unmanned flight to manned flight, from one person for one day to multiple people for multiple days, from in-cabin experiments to out-of-cabin activities, from single-vessel flight to stable operation of composites, it has successively broken through a large number of core technologies with independent intellectual property rights.

Nowadays, China's manned spaceflight project has been fully transferred to the orbit construction mission stage of the space station.

Data map: The Long March 5B carrier rocket ignited into the air.

Photo by Luo Yunfei

　　What is China’s upcoming space station master?

Zhou Jianping said that the basic configuration of the China Space Station includes three compartments: Tianhe Core Module, Mengtian Experimental Module, and Wentian Experimental Module, each of which is 20-ton class and the mass of the three-chamber combination is approximately 66 tons.

The space station is in a T-shaped configuration as a whole, with the core cabin in the middle, and two experimental cabins connected to both sides.

　　In 1998, the International Space Station launched its first module.

In terms of time, the construction of the Chinese Space Station was more than 20 years later than the International Space Station.

Although the construction time was late, "late has the advantage of being late."

"We make full use of contemporary advanced technology to develop, and attach great importance to the economic efficiency requirements of the space station's future on-orbit operation." Zhou Jianping said.

　　Comparing the similarities and differences between the two, Zhou Jianping said: “The International Space Station and the Chinese Space Station are both large-scale space facilities that fly in orbit for a long time and can carry people. In terms of scale, the International Space Station is much larger than the Chinese Space Station.” But the Chinese Space Station is from Starting from scientific needs, the plan has been fully verified and determined. At this stage, the scale of China's space station can meet the needs of scientific research projects in space.

　　China was previously excluded from the “club” of the International Space Station. Will the Chinese Space Station be open to scientists around the world in the future?

To this, Zhou Jianping gave a positive answer.

He introduced that at present, China's manned space project has promoted the implementation of the first batch of experimental projects with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, and has cooperation agreements with space agencies in many countries and regions.

　　In fact, as early as May 2018, the China Manned Space Engineering Office and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs issued a cooperation opportunity announcement to the United Nations member states, inviting foreign scientists to participate in space science applications around the Chinese space station. 42 project proposals in 27 countries.

From June 10 to 11, 2019, the second meeting of the Project Evaluation and Selection Committee reviewed and confirmed that 9 projects including space tumors and nebula gas spectroscopy research were successfully selected.

　　"We welcome foreign scientists to participate in the scientific cooperation of the space station. Of course, the Chinese space station will also have specific requirements. We have previously released the resources provided by the Chinese space station, as well as the conditions and specific selections that must be met to conduct scientific research experiments on the space station. Request." Zhou Jianping said.

　　In the first half of this year, China will use the Long March 5B rocket to launch the sky and core module.

As the launch time approaches, Zhou Jianping's burden is getting heavier.

　　During the construction of the space station in orbit, China also plans to launch four Shenzhou manned spacecraft for astronaut crew rotation.

The outside world is also very concerned about the list of 4 astronaut crews.

　　Zhou Jianping said: "In the construction phase of the space station, a total of 12 astronauts in 4 crews will be arranged for flight missions, as well as 4 backup astronauts. The crews of these crews will be selected from the first and second batch of astronauts. Yes, of course, including astronauts who have participated in flight missions before. They are all selected." At present, astronauts are still in training. The specific crew and which astronauts will perform the mission when will be announced in due course. .

　　Talking about the future planning of China’s manned space project, Zhou Jianping said that China is in the process of deepening the demonstration of the manned moon landing program and tackling key technical problems; “Exploring the universe and exploring the unknown is not only the desire of the ancients, but also scientific development and progress of human civilization China has been preparing for the next development of manned spaceflight.”

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