Chinese space industry insiders are considering using the country’s upcoming space station as a facility for large-scale space-borne biology experiments in order to constantly increase China’s ability to safeguard its biosecurity, according to Zhao Xiaojin, Party chief of the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST).
Zhao, who is also a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China’s top advisory body, made the statement on the sidelines of the ongoing national two sessions on Saturday.
Zhao told the Global Times on Saturday that he hoped to contribute to the national goals of social economic development and winning the battle against COVID-19.
The trial version of the country’s new-generation manned spaceship, which was developed by the CAST, successfully completed its maiden flight and returned safely earlier this month, fully verifying the function of the key technology, Zhao noted. “The era of China’s space station construction has officially been ushered in.”
Following the successful maiden flight of the Long March-5B large rocket and the testing of China’s new-generation manned spaceship, more details of China’s space station have been unveiled.
The space station, expected to be completed around 2022, will operate in low-Earth orbit at an altitude of 340-450 kilometers for more than 10 years, supporting large-scale scientific, technological and application experiments.
Path to deeper space
China is also expected to conduct its first-ever Mars probe mission, codenamed Wentian-1, later this year, and the Chang’e-5 lunar probe, a moon sampling return mission, is also scheduled for this year.
The successful completion of the Mars probe mission will narrow the gap between China and the US, Russia and the Europe, and mark China as a genuine space power, according to the political advisor.
According to China’s space authorities, the country’s third-generation spacecraft tracking ship Yuanwang-6 set sail in the Pacific for a number of monitoring and control missions.
Ship captain Yang Bianjiao revealed that the journey is intended to test the vessel’s newly updated gear and strengthened spacecraft tracking capabilities, which will lay the foundation for follow-up missions including the Mars probe and the Chang’e-5 lunar probe.
Tianwen-1, China’s first Mars probe mission, aims to orbit, land and rove in one go, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
No country has completed such an undertaking in its exploration of the Red Planet, meaning the Chinese mission faces unprecedented challenges, Zhao said.
China is exploring a new path for the Mars probe rather than repeating what others have already done, which will showcase China’s aerospace technology development and great confidence, he remarked.
China also plans to send out two more advanced Earth observation satellites from the Gaofen satellite family in 2020, and will conduct a Mars sample return mission by around 2030, as well as a Jovian System probe mission, Zhao revealed.
File photo of a full-size model of the core module of China’s space station Tianhe. (Xinhua/Liang Xu)
