Shenzhou 13 goes home and enters the countdown
Wang Yaping jumped rope and gradually "taken off", and his strength performed "happy enough to fly before going home"... In the past few days, a video about "'space trip trio' is busy before going home?" It has attracted attention, everyone They left a message: "Welcome the three heroes home!"
On October 16, 2021, astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu took the Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft to enter the Tianhe core module, becoming the second batch of astronauts to stay in the Chinese space station.
Chinese astronauts affect the hearts of the Chinese people.
During about 180 days of space flight, with the support of ground scientific and technical personnel, they successfully completed 2 out-of-vehicle activities, 2 "Tiangong Classroom" space teaching activities, and carried out a number of scientific and technological experiments and application projects.
Now, they are preparing for the return of the spacecraft in an intense and orderly manner, and will depart home as planned in mid-April.
Tidy up the room, pack up, exercise, "turn off the lights and lock the door"... 3 astronauts are fully prepared for returning to Earth
The "business trip" in space is coming to an end, and the three astronauts are still "not free".
In the past few days, their main task is to organize their packages, strengthen their physical exercise, and prepare for their return to Earth.
"Before the Shenzhou 13 crew returns, several key tasks must be completed, including inventory and material transfer, comprehensive cleaning and maintenance of the cabin environment, sorting and packaging of downstream items, etc." According to the deputy of the General Office of Aerospace Medicine Engineering of the Astronaut Center Director Zhai Zhihong said.
When they first entered the space station, the three astronauts worked very hard to "unpack the express delivery", remove a lot of daily necessities and experimental equipment from the cargo spacecraft, and set up a "small home" in the sky.
Before going home, they need to "return things to their original places" and restore the cabin environment as much as possible. Fitness equipment, laboratory supplies, maintenance spare parts, etc. need to be repackaged and put back in their designated locations.
In addition, they also need to inventory and classify the remaining materials so that the Shenzhou 14 flight crew can "seamlessly connect" to life in orbit.
After finishing the "luggage", the astronauts have to "clean up", comprehensively clean and maintain the cabin environment, and "take away" the garbage to control the growth of microorganisms in the space station combination.
It is necessary to "take care" of the space station and "take care" of yourself.
Long-term exposure to a weightless environment in space will cause problems such as muscle atrophy and bone loss in the human body.
In order to alleviate the possible harm caused by these conditions, the astronauts exercise every day, and strengthen the exercise in a targeted manner before returning to make adaptive adjustments in advance.
Every movement of the astronauts has a scientific design plan, and the weightless physiological effect protection team of the astronaut ground center will provide "exercise prescriptions" based on the real-time physical conditions of the three astronauts.
Although the technology is mature and reliable, the journey of the spacecraft's return capsule to return to Earth is still challenging.
The astronauts must be familiar with the necessary operations and contingency plans during the entire return process, and they must also carefully check the spacecraft's return cabin to ensure that the "car" systems are working properly.
Last year, after the launch of Shenzhou 13, the rapid rendezvous and docking technology was verified, which greatly reduced the time for astronauts to enter the space station.
Now, after completing a six-month on-orbit stay, Shenzhou 13 will use the rapid return technology for the first time, allowing the astronaut crew to return to the ground at a faster speed.
"Shenzhou 13 will use the fast return plan for the first time when it performs the return mission, and will land at the Dongfeng Landing Site." Shao Limin, deputy technical manager of the manned spacecraft system project of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, told reporters that it used to take about one day to return. This time, the time for the manned spacecraft to return to the ground will be greatly shortened, thereby improving the comfort of the astronauts.
The astronauts will also check the various facilities and equipment in the maintenance cabin again, and set the unmanned flight mode for the space station to ensure that the "Space Home" can run stably in orbit before the next crew enters.
Before leaving, the astronauts should close all the doors in the space station, and then return to the Shenzhou 13 spacecraft from the core module. After sitting down, fasten their seat belts and check the air tightness of the space suit and the integrity of the equipment.
When everything is ready, they will set off on their journey home.
The two out-of-vehicle activities were a complete success, and the on-orbit scientific experiments achieved fruitful results
Carrying out two out-of-vehicle activities and carrying out a number of scientific experiments... 6 months of on-orbit life is fleeting, and the three astronauts have worked fully and gained a lot.
At 1:16 on November 8, 2021, after about 6.5 hours of outboard activities, the Shenzhou 13 astronaut crew worked closely together to successfully complete all the set tasks of the outboard activities. Astronauts Zhai Zhigang and Wang Yaping returned safely to the Tianhe core The cabin, the out-of-cabin activity was a complete success.
This is the third astronaut outing activity in the space station stage of China's manned space project, the first outing of the Shenzhou 13 astronaut crew, and the first outing of female astronauts in the history of Chinese spaceflight.
During the astronauts' out-of-vehicle activities, there was strong coordination between heaven and earth, close cooperation inside and outside the cabin, and successively completed tasks such as the installation of the mechanical arm suspension device and adapter, and the test of typical extravehicular movements, which further tested the performance of my country's new generation of extravehicular spacesuit The functional performance tests the ability of the astronauts to work together with the manipulator and the reliability and safety of the support equipment related to the outboard activities.
More than a month later, at 0:55 on December 27, 2021, the Shenzhou 13 astronaut crew once again lived up to expectations. After about 6 hours, they successfully completed the second out-of-vehicle panoramic camera C lift and extravehicular work point limit. The astronauts Zhai Zhigang and Ye Guangfu returned to the Tianhe core module safely, and the exit activity was a complete success.
The two out-of-vehicle activities further verified the functional performance of the core cabin airlock, extravehicular suit, and robotic arm, and assessed the related technologies of out-of-vehicle activities, the coordination of astronauts inside and outside the cabin, and the ability of space-earth collaboration, and further accumulated for subsequent out-of-vehicle activities. experience.
It is understood that the implementation of extravehicular operations is becoming the norm for space station missions.
In the follow-up, Chinese astronauts will carry out more and more complex exit activities to provide strong support for the successful completion of the construction and stable operation of the space station.
Show your skills outside the cabin, and there are "real kung fu" in the cabin.
One of the purposes of building the space station is to build a space laboratory, which also means that the laboratory on earth can be moved to space.
"The Shenzhou 13 mission has completed more than 20 (on-orbit) scientific experiments on the basis of the Shenzhou 12." According to Li Yinghui, a researcher at the China Astronaut Training Center and the deputy chief designer of the manned space engineering astronaut system, These experiments involve new technologies for astronaut health monitoring, new scientific knowledge and new discoveries, etc.
The weightless environment of space provides convenient conditions for human beings to carry out life science research.
Relying on the China Space Station, my country established a long-term cell culture system and cell model under space conditions for the first time during the Shenzhou 13 crew in orbit.
Using such a system and training model, researchers have completed several world-leading life science experiments.
"During the orbit of Shenzhou 13, we completed the world's first case of renal epithelial cells from human urine, and through genetic reprogramming, they were transformed into stem cells with various functions, and then differentiated into cardiomyocytes. Through gene editing technology, we edited a fluorescent protein and saw the blinking process of calcium signals during cell contraction." Li Yinghui said, this is the first time that humans have observed the contraction process of cardiomyocytes under weightless conditions.
Taking advantage of the sensitivity of cardiomyocytes to gravity, scientific researchers compared the contraction process and characteristics of cardiomyocytes under gravitational and weightless conditions based on the observations of astronauts in orbit experiments, so as to better understand the impact of the weightless environment on the human body .
"On the one hand, this technology can be used to understand the characteristics of cardiovascular changes under weightless conditions, and on the other hand, it also provides a very good experimental model for public health, human regeneration and aging, including human longevity and the occurrence of heart disease." Li Yinghui Say.
In addition, relying on the China Space Station and Shenzhou 13, Chinese researchers have also completed the world's first suspension culture experiment of skin stem cells under long-term weightlessness conditions.
According to experts, carrying out such cell space experiments will help humans better understand life and break through themselves.
"Tiangong Classroom" sowed scientific seeds deeply, and space science became the norm
On April 9, local time, the "Tiangong Q&A" - an interactive activity between the Chinese Shenzhou 13 astronaut crew and American teenagers was held at the Chinese Embassy in the United States.
American teenagers raised all kinds of fantastic questions about astronauts' life in space, and astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu answered them respectively.
Thanks to the development of sky-earth communication technology, being in space does not mean "isolation", and "interaction between heaven and earth" has become the norm in the life of astronauts.
With the support from the ground, the flight crew of Shenzhou 13 participated in the New Year's Day "Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Tiangong Dialogue" activity, held the first Chinese Tiangong painting exhibition, carried out interactive exchanges with young people, and conducted unique science popularization activities. Educational and cultural communication activities.
On the big screen of the main classroom on the ground of the China Science and Technology Museum, the real-time picture changed from the space station flying around the blue earth to the spacious and tidy core cabin of the space station. A yellow spinning top appeared in the camera, and Wang Yaping's voice sounded: " Space exploration is never-ending, with the spinning top, we have entered the space station era from the Shenzhou 10 mission. Welcome to the 'Tiangong Classroom'!" Wang Yaping greeted the students and introduced the surrounding "Feel Good Crew".
Teaching at the highest, sowing the seeds of science in the deepest.
On December 9, 2021, the first lesson of "Tiangong Classroom" officially started.
This is the first time that Chinese astronauts will teach in space again after 8 years, and it is also the "first show" of space teaching in the Chinese space station.
During the 60-minute lecture, astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu introduced and demonstrated the working and living scenes of the space station, demonstrated the magical phenomena such as cytology experiments, human movement, and liquid surface tension in a microgravity environment, and explained the scientific principles behind the experiments.
Space "ice and snow" experiment, liquid bridge demonstration experiment, water-oil separation experiment, space parabolic experiment... On March 23, "Tiangong Classroom" lectured again, three "space teachers" demonstrated the experiment in the form of interaction between heaven and earth, and introduced and showcases space science facilities.
The China Space Station is a national space laboratory and an important space science education base.
The space lectures full of whimsical ideas allow the seeds of science to take root in the hearts of hundreds of millions of teenagers.
"This year, China's space station will be fully completed, and manned spaceflight science work will be carried out on a regular basis. 'Tiangong Classroom' is a popular science brand that we will focus on building." The China Manned Space Engineering Office said that the conditions of China's space station and the communication between heaven and earth The guarantee conditions for the astronauts are very good, and the astronauts will interact with the ground and carry out popular science activities will be normalized.
All parties are looking forward to the heroic triumph. The flight of Shenzhou 12 and Shenzhou 13 has made outstanding contributions to the verification of key technologies of the space station
"Notify the coordinates of the landing point, longitude 100°04' east..." The position command announced the coordinates of the landing point, and 5 helicopters and 18 search and rescue vehicles set off from the assembly point of the temporary open space and went to their respective standby areas.
After the fourth forecast of the landing point, the air teams gathered and flew, and landed at the landing point one after another.
This is the scene of the third system-wide comprehensive exercise at the Dongfeng Landing Site of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
At present, all search and rescue forces at the Dongfeng Landing Site have entered the site. The major systems have conducted sub-system training and organized matching exercises between systems. In the future, multiple system-wide comprehensive exercises will be planned.
In response to the Shenzhou 13 returning to a new mode, the Dongfeng Landing Site Search and Rescue Brigade took various measures to ensure the safe return of the astronauts.
"For the Shenzhou 13 mission, the astronauts are in orbit for 6 months, which is a long-term stay in orbit. On the basis of the Shenzhou 12 mission, we have made some new explorations in the guarantee of medical supervision and medical insurance on the ground, and have passed comprehensive exercises. Improve the plan and plan to improve the ability to complete the task." said Bian Hancheng, deputy chief designer of the landing site system for China's manned space project.
Everything is ready, just waiting for the three astronauts to return home safely.
Speaking of the Shenzhou 13 "space trip trio", Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China's manned space project, said that their physical and psychological conditions are very good, and they will return to the ground in mid-April, which also marks the key technology of China's space station. End of verification phase.
Since 2021, my country's manned space project has successfully implemented five missions in the verification phase of key technologies of the space station.
This year is the decisive year for the construction of the space station. According to the task arrangement, 6 missions will be organized and implemented, including the space station interrogation capsule, the dream capsule, cargo supply, and manned flight, to complete the orbit construction of the space station and build a country with stable operation on orbit space laboratory.
At present, the astronaut crews for the two manned missions in the construction phase of the space station have been selected and mission training is being carried out.
Zhou Jianping revealed that after the launch of Shenzhou 14 this year, the astronauts will welcome the arrival of two experimental modules while in orbit.
Before the end of this year, the Shenzhou 15 astronauts will also fly to the Chinese space station and "join" the space with the Shenzhou 14 astronauts.
"This will be a very exciting moment. At that time, a ship consisting of 3 cabins, 2 manned spacecraft and 1 cargo spacecraft will have a total mass of nearly 100 tons, carry 6 astronauts, and also load The Chinese space station with a large number of advanced experimental devices such as space life and biological science, materials science, etc. will be presented to the world." Zhou Jianping said.
6 months, which is currently the highest record for the continuous flight time of Chinese astronauts in orbit.
In the future, 6 months will become the normal residence period of the astronaut crew during the operation of the Chinese space station.
The galaxy is splendid, and people expect heroes to triumph.
"The flight of the two crews of Shenzhou 12 and Shenzhou 13 has made outstanding contributions to the verification of key technologies of the space station." Zhou Jianping said that the analysis and preliminary evaluation of the current flight results show that the systems of my country's manned aerospace engineering fully meet the The engineering technical requirements and the main functional performance indicators all exceeded the design goals.