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Wan LixinOpinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily
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Shenzhou-18 crew to launch today for space station task
Print Edition
The Shenzhou-18 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 8:59pm today from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, the China Manned Space Agency announced yesterday.
The spaceship will carry three astronauts — Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu — for the spaceflight mission, with Ye the commander, Lin Xiqiang, CMSA deputy director told a press conference.
Shenzhou-18 is the 32nd flight mission of China’s manned space program, and the third manned mission during the application and development stage of the country’s space station.
The crew will stay in orbit for about six months, and they are scheduled to return to the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in late October this year.
The launch will use a Long March-2F carrier rocket, which will be filled with propellant soon, Lin said.
The Shenzhou-17 crew is scheduled to return to the Dongfeng landing site on April 30 after completing the in-orbit work handover to the Shenzhou-18 crew, Lin added.
The Shenzhou-18 astronauts will perform various in-orbit space science and application tests and experiments as well as multiple space walks during their six-month stay in the country’s space station.
The crew will utilize the scientific experiment cabinets and extravehicular payloads to carry out more than 90 experiments in the fields of basic physics in microgravity, space material science, space life science, space medicine and space technology, he noted.
During the mission, the country’s first in-orbit aquatic ecological research project will be implemented. Using zebrafish and goldfish algae to establish a self-cycling aquatic ecosystem in orbit, the project aims to make to a breakthrough in the cultivation of vertebrates in space, according to Lin.
The world’s first in-orbit stem cell study on the plant’s stem tips will be made to reveal the mechanism of plant evolutionary adaptation to gravity and provide theoretical support for space cropping, said Lin.
The Shenzhou-18 astronauts will carry out two to three extravehicular activities (EVAs), implement six cargo outbound deliveries via the station’s cargo airlock module.
During the EVAs, the astronauts will install space debris protection reinforcements for extravehicular piping, cables and critical equipment, and carry out extravehicular inspections, as appropriate, to further safeguard the safety of the space station, the official said.
The selection of the fourth batch of Chinese astronauts is about to be completed soon.
They will work with other active astronauts to carry out the follow-up space station missions and to realize the country’s manned lunar landing, Lin added.
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