Source: Global Times [Global Times reporter Fan Wei] A reporter from the Global Times learned from the introduction meeting on the phased progress of the space application of manned space engineering and space station advanced plant cultivation experiments on the 29th that as of

Source: Global Times

[ Global Times report reporter Fan Wei] A Global Times reporter learned from the introduction meeting on the stage progress of the manned space engineering space application and space station advanced plant cultivation experiment on the 29th that as of now, the life ecological experimental cabinet and other scientific experimental facilities deployed on the Wentian Experimental Cabinet are in good condition and work stably, and the on-orbit experiment of scientific experimental projects launched with the cabin are underway as planned. The experimental unit carrying experimental samples Arabidopsis seeds and rice seeds has been installed by astronauts into the general experimental module of life ecology in the Wentian Experimental Cabin. The plants have now germinated and grown.

tall rice has grown to 30 cm

In the past decade, with returning to the moon, landing on Mars , and establishing a moon or Mars base have become an important goal of human space exploration. Taking the food production necessary for human life in space for a long time as the research object, by studying how to cultivate or cultivate plants under completely closed space conditions, exploring the conditions and technical ways for crops to produce efficiently in the space environment, and ultimately realizing the goal of human long-term space exploration has become a new hot topic in research.

According to a Global Times reporter, on July 28, an experimental unit containing experimental samples Arabidopsis seeds and rice seeds was installed by astronauts into the general experimental module of life ecology in the Wentian Experimental Cabin. The experiment was started on July 29 through ground program injection instructions. At present, the seed germination of Arabidopsis and rice has been successfully started. Arabidopsis seedlings have grown many leaves, the seedlings of tall rice have grown to about 30 cm, and the short rice is also 5-6 cm tall, with good growth status. The experiments of Arabidopsis and rice in the entire life cycle from seed to seed will be completed in the future. During the experiment, the astronauts will collect samples and freeze them, and finally return to the ground with the astronauts for analysis.

Researcher at the Center for Excellence of Molecular Plants of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and head of the experimental project "Molecular Mechanism of Advanced Plant Blossom Regulation under Microgravity Conditions" said in an interview with the Global Times and other media on the 29th that the seeds of crops are not only grain, but also the carrier for reproduction of the next generation. With the deepening of manned deep space exploration, such as landing on Mars, in order to truly solve the food security problem of human beings' long-term space exploration, it is impossible to rely solely on carrying food from the earth to meet the long-term space living and work needs of astronauts. The problem of producing food in space must be solved. Since life on Earth cannot survive unprotected under harsh space environment conditions, space crop production must be carried out in a completely closed artificial environment in the future, and planting space and energy supply are very scarce. Therefore, crops grown in space must meet the requirements of high yields, high production efficiency and low energy consumption.

Zheng Huiqiong introduced that the crop experimental study conducted on China Space Station is expected to complete the entire life cycle of rice from "seed to seed" under spatial microgravity conditions for the first time in the world, and obtain the key environmental parameters of rice cultivation, providing important theoretical guidance for further analyzing the impact of spatial microgravity on rice growth and development and the molecular basis, and using rice for spatial grain production.

officially announced the latest progress of Wentian Experimental Cabin

At the situation introduction meeting held on the 29th, Zhao Liping, a researcher at the Space Application Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the chief designer of Wentian Experimental Cabinet at the Manned Space Application System of the Manned Space Engineering Space Application System, said that after the Wentian Experimental Cabinet was launched into orbit, three astronauts completed the unlocking, status setting, radiation measurement module and plant culture unit installation on July 28.

Astronauts also completed the unlocking and assembly of variable gravity science experiment cabinets, scientific glove boxes, low-temperature storage devices, and biotechnology experiment cabinets on August 8 and August 12 respectively, and the assembly process was smooth and efficient. "After assembly was completed, the variable gravity science experiment cabinet, scientific glove box, and low-temperature storage device carried out the established on-orbit test content. Through downlink telemetry data and engineering data, the relevant scientific experiment cabinet and scientific experiment system worked normally and had good load status."

On July 28, three astronauts completed the installation of the science experimental unit of the Life Ecology Experiment Cabinet in the general biological culture experimental module, and began to inject water into the experimental samples Arabidopsis and rice seeds brought to the Chinese space station, and officially carried out on-orbit experiments. Under normal temperature, humidity and light control, ground personnel judged through downward image data analysis that the growth status of rice and Arabidopsis seeds after germination was normal, and subsequent cultivation and on-orbit experiments were carried out as planned.

Zhao Liping said that after the Wentian Experiment Cabin was launched, the space environment security sub-system monitored the air 24 hours a day. 549 space environment forecast products have been released. According to the current spatial environment monitoring data analysis, the recent solar activity level is extremely low to low, and geomagnetic activity is mainly calm to perturbation, which will be conducive to the development of various on-orbit work of the space station.

subsequent space experiments will be more "high-energy"

As of now, three astronauts in the Shenzhou 14 crew have been working in orbit for more than 80 days. The three astronauts will have a major task, which is to wait for the arrival of Dream Sky Experimental Cabin . According to a reporter from the Global Times, The second experimental cabin section of my country's space station, Mengtian Experimental Cabin, has completed all the development work before leaving the factory at the beginning of this month, and arrived at the Wenchang Space Launch Site, and will be launched at an airport in October this year. After the launch is successful, my country's National Space Laboratory will be completed. The Tianzhou 5 cargo spacecraft and the Shenzhou 15 manned spacecraft will be launched, and after being rotated in orbit with the Shenzhou 14 crew, it will stay in orbit for 6 months.

At the situation introduction meeting held on the 29th, Zhao Liping, a researcher at the Space Application Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the chief designer of the Wentian Experimental Cabin of the Manned Space Engineering Space Application System, introduced the main body of the subsequent space application system. It is necessary to work projects. Zhao Liping said that between August and October, the manned space engineering space application system will carry out on-orbit experiments for life ecological experiment cabinets, regular module inspections for biotechnology experiment cabinets and life ecological experiment cabinets, as well as on-orbit testing for variable gravity science experiment cabinets, scientific glove boxes and low-temperature storage cabinets. During the Shenzhou 15 crew mission, energy particle detectors and plasma in-situ imaging detectors will also be assembled in the cabin, self-testing, out-of-cabin installation, in-orbit testing, and in-orbit work.

After the completion of the China Space Station, my country will also launch a space patrol telescope at the right time, and share the rail with the space station for a long time. Standing flight, conduct sky survey observation, and short-term docking at the space station for supply and maintenance and upgrading.

Zhang Wei, a researcher at the Space Application Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of the Application Development Center, said in an interview with the Global Times and other media that the space survey space telescope is 2 meters aerospace, with an imaging quality comparable to that of Hubble , and its field of view is nearly 300 times larger. The field of space astronomy and earth science will use astronomical observation facilities such as the astronomical observation facilities, such as the sky survey optical telescope, high-energy cosmic radiation detection facilities, to carry out dark matter and dark energy, the formation and evolution of the universe structure, the origin and evolution of galaxies, supermassive black hole , the origin of cosmic rays, and the exploration of exoplanets in the solar system; focusing on major issues related to the sustainable development of human society such as global climate change, carbon peak and carbon neutrality, we will carry out research and verification of new earth observation technologies and new systems.

In addition, the new space technologies and application fields will also develop new space technologies such as space robots and autonomous systems, intelligent manufacturing and construction of space intelligent satellite formations and applications, earth-moon space optical communication and autonomous navigation technology, core components and components.