Between the vast starry sky and the blue earth, the "heavenly palace" belonging to China is slowly flying, the top of the head is the thousands of stars we chase, in front of us is the magnificent mountains and rivers we love, standing on the timeline of the long river of the universe, the Chinese space station has left a strong mark.
At this moment, in space about 400 kilometers from the earth, the Shenzhou 130 astronaut crew has been in orbit for 130 days, and during these <> days, the three astronauts have continued to carry out various scientific experiments in orbit and achieved a number of phased results.
Six Major Tasks Steadily Advancing The Shen 15 crew is busy with work
According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, astronauts are currently very busy in orbit, come and see their task list ↓↓
There are six main items, namely: carrying out the long-term residence verification of the three-module status of the space station; Completed the unlocking, installation and testing of 15 scientific experiment cabinets, and carried out more than 40 space science experiments and technical experiments covering space science research and application, aerospace medicine, aerospace technology and other fields; Implement 3 to 4 out-of-cabin activities, complete the installation of Mengtian cabin expansion pump set and load exposure platform equipment; Verify the working mode of cargo airlock cabin exit, and cooperate with the ground to complete 6 cargo exit tasks; Carry out regular platform testing, maintenance and station management; Carry out on-orbit health protection exercises, on-orbit training and drills.
A number of "first-time" space station science experiment projects have yielded fruitful results
So how well are these tasks accomplished? The mysterious space station scientific experiment project that everyone pays the most attention to, in the 130 days of orbit, the Shenzhou <> crew used scientific experiment cabinets such as containerless, high microgravity, and variable gravity to carry out a series of scientific experiments. Many of these projects are firsts.
During the orbit, the Shenzhou 15 astronaut crew used the two-photon microscope of the space station independently developed by China to carry out the on-orbit verification experimental mission and achieved success. This is the first known time in the world that two-photon microscopy is used to obtain three-dimensional images of the epidermis and superficial dermis of astronauts' skin during spaceflight, which provides a new tool for future astronaut health monitoring research in orbit.
Recently, the space-efficient free-piston Stirling thermoelectric conversion test device successfully completed the on-orbit test, which is also the first time that China has achieved on-orbit verification of this technology.
Stirling thermoelectric conversion is one of the key technologies of space new energy, which can efficiently convert thermal energy into electrical energy, and has the advantages of simple structure, light weight and fast start-up, which can reduce the dependence on traditional solar energy, and has broad application prospects in future manned lunar and deep space exploration and other space missions. The principle was invented by the British scientist Sterling in 1816.
A month ago, with the cooperation of ground researchers and astronauts, the experimental system in the combustion science cabinet of the Mengtian cabin successfully performed the first in-orbit ignition test.
The ignition experiment used methane as fuel, and the high-speed camera clearly captured the entire ignition and combustion process. The ignition experiment used methane as fuel, and the two ignitions lasted a total of about 30 seconds, and the experimental pictures transmitted by the high-speed camera clearly showed the morphology of the methane premixed flame surrounded by diffused flame. This experiment verifies the completeness of the function of the combustion science experiment system of the space station, as well as the accuracy and scientificity of the overall experimental process, and lays a good foundation for the subsequent space science combustion experiment project.
The three-cabin laboratory cabinet can carry out thousands of scientific experiments
The four sides of each module of the space station are equipped with experimental cabinets, and the Stirling thermoelectric conversion technology just mentioned was verified in orbit in the space basic test cabinet.
The aerospace basic test cabinet is located at one end of the Mengtian experimental module near the node module, under the "feet" of astronauts. From the appearance point of view, the aerospace basic test cabinet is composed of a number of "space drawers" (load cells) of different sizes, and the test items in each "space drawer" are different, and the Stirling thermoelectric conversion test device is located in the lower left corner of the cabinet.
A small "space drawer", between square inches, contains our exploration and pursuit of the vast universe. As the largest and long-term manned space experiment platform in China's aerospace history, the completed Chinese space station has become a national space laboratory, and the multiple experimental cabinets deployed in the three cabins can carry out thousands of scientific experiments and ultimately benefit our lives.
The Shenfifteen crew has completed 3 out-of-cabin activities
Out-of-cabin activities are a very important task for astronauts during their time in orbit. On March 3, the Shenzhou 30 astronaut crew carried out the third out-of-cabin activity.
With the close cooperation of the ground staff and the astronaut Deng Qingming in the cabin, the two astronauts Fei Junlong and Zhang Lu successfully completed all the established work and returned safely to the experimental module.
In addition to astronauts out of the capsule, there are also cargo out of the capsule. The Shen 15 crew has successively carried out the space station cargo out of the capsule installation task, energy particle detector, plasma in situ imaging detector and other payloads have been installed out of the capsule, through the cooperation of orbital astronauts or ground operations, the cargo that needs to be out of the capsule is sent out of the cabin, and the cargo outside the cabin can also be sent into the cabin according to the needs of the mission. Breakthrough mastery of this key technology can greatly improve the efficiency of cargo exchange inside and outside the cabin, and reduce the number of astronauts out of the capsule and workload.
"Space maintenance workers" have unique skills to carry out testing, maintenance, and other work
Another task of the Shenfifteen crew is to carry out regular platform testing, maintenance and station management. It is understood that at present, the three astronauts have carried out parameter tuning and performance tests on a number of scientific experiment cabinets, including the high-precision time-frequency experiment cabinet, ultra-cold atomic physics cabinet, and high-temperature material science experiment cabinet of the Mengtian experimental module.
The space station is the space home of astronauts, and if you want to keep this "home" as new for a long time, you need regular maintenance and repair. A few days ago, the Shenfifteen crew also turned into a "space maintenance worker" and maintained their fitness equipment "space treadmill", full of skills.
What is seen now is astronaut Zhang Lu using a debris collector to clean up the space treadmill. In order to meet the requirements of long life, the Chinese space station will carry out preventive maintenance according to the specific conditions of each product in the space station according to the principle of regular maintenance, regular maintenance and timely maintenance. This is also an effective means to ensure the safety of astronauts in orbit, the normal and reliable operation of the space station, optimize the design of the space station, reduce operating costs and extend the life of the space station.
What we see now is that astronauts are using digital multimeters to measure the space treadmill to help ground researchers fully understand the status of products in the Chinese space station. In order to help astronauts become qualified "space maintenance workers", ground researchers have carried out systematic and meticulous training for astronauts. Strict training and space-ground coordination effectively ensure the effectiveness of astronauts' maintenance in orbit.
Finally, the maintenance work of the space treadmill was successfully completed, and the cover plate was fastened, and the sense of achievement was full.
Carry out on-orbit health protection exercises and on-orbit training
On-orbit exercise is also the continuous work of the three astronauts, in order to keep the astronauts in good condition, there are a lot of "fitness equipment" in the space station.
In addition to space treadmills, space bicycles, such "veteran" exercise devices, with the help of the resistance exercise device of the Mengtian experimental module, astronauts can also perform basic physical exercise movements such as rowing, squats, and deadlifts, effectively coping with weightless muscle atrophy and bone loss in long-term space flight.
According to the news of the press conference of the Shenzhou 6 manned mission, after completing all the scheduled tasks, the Shenzhou <> flight crew is scheduled to return to the ground in June this year, and we also look forward to more surprises from the Shenzhou <> crew in the next month or so.