. 24/7 Space News .
DRAGON SPACE
China's manned space program attracts more public attention
by Staff Writers
Beijing (XNA) Sep 22, 2022

Recent image of Shenzhou-14 astronauts conducting an EVA outside China's Tiangong Space Station.

China's manned space program, initiated 30 years ago, has grown more popular among Chinese people, who return with extensive support and a vision for space exploration.

On Sept. 21, 1992, China officially approved its manned space program, coded as "Project 921".

The first batch of Chinese astronauts were all recruited from elite pilots of China's air force. Among them were Yang Liwei, China's first space traveler sent into space in 2003, and Zhai Zhigang, the country's first spacewalker. They were both awarded the title of "Space Hero."

Since then, Chinese astronauts have remained in the spotlight. They receive interviews or give speeches to students. Yang's autobiographic article "One Day in Space" is even included in the Chinese textbook for middle school students across the country.

In a survey conducted by the China Youth Daily in July 2021, after China launched the Shenzhou-12 spaceship to send three Chinese astronauts to the space station core module, 98.3 percent of the 2,047 participants aged between 14 and 35 said they paid attention to the aerospace industry. The survey also showed that 65.9 percent had a strong interest in the aerospace industry.

With the progress of the program, science popularization activities in orbit have become another focus of public attention.

In 2013, female astronaut Wang Yaping delivered a televised science lecture to an audience of over 60 million schoolchildren during the Shenzhou-10 mission. She earned the title of China's first space teacher.

About eight years later, after Wang went to China's space station for a six-month mission, she gave two more space lectures with her fellow crew members Zhai Zhigang and Ye Guangfu. Her students were in classrooms in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), Macao SAR, Lhasa in Tibet Autonomous Region, Urumqi in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and other Chinese cities.

During the lectures, the trio showed the students their living and working areas in the Tianhe core module. They also demonstrated several experiments under zero-gravity conditions, such as the crystallization of supersaturated solutions, a liquid bridge demonstration, water-oil separation, and throwing objects in zero-gravity conditions. It amazed numerous students on Earth.

The ample room in the space station and the large bandwidth transmission between space and Earth have made it possible for the public to closely follow the lives and work of Chinese astronauts for the first time.

As of September 2022, the China Manned Space Agency has issued about 110 video clips through its social media accounts to the public, recording the in-orbit life and work of the astronauts. It includes extravehicular activities, physical exercise, health examinations, and watching the Tokyo Olympics and the Beijing Winter Olympic Games.

Those video clips have gained a large audience across the country. People are interested in knowing how astronauts cut their hair, what kind of moon cakes they eat during the Mid-Autumn Festival, or how they write Spring Festival couplets to celebrate the festival.

The audience found that these brave space heroes are fascinating people in their daily work and lives.

On Bilibili, one of China's largest video-sharing platforms, a video clip of astronaut Tang Hongbo eating an apple while working in the space station has been played over 879,000 times with almost 1,800 comments. One comment with nearly 9,000 likes says, "that's one small bite for man, one giant bite for mankind."

As the frequent exposure of China's astronauts at the space station has attracted more attention from the general public, the country's manned space program has become more closely connected with people's daily life.

The movie box office reflects its popularity. This year's summer holiday has witnessed a sci-fi comedy "Moon Man," raking in 2.87 billion yuan (about 409.56 million U.S. dollars) in just one month. The comedy revolves around a Chinese astronaut who finds himself stranded on the moon and struggles to survive alone.

However, it is not the most famous movie about China's manned space program. The country's 2019 science-fiction blockbuster "The Wandering Earth" received a total box office revenue of around 4.69 billion yuan.

Its prequel "The Wandering Earth II" has unveiled its first trailer this August, saying its release is set for the Chinese Lunar New Year in 2023.

The people's interest in the country's manned space program is beyond being a watcher. In the future, they are hopeful to participate in person.

According to Yang Yiqiang, former commander-in-chief of the Long March-11 rocket project and now chairman of a commercial aerospace enterprise, China will likely start a suborbital travel service in 2025. It will cost about 2 million to 3 million yuan per person.

He said the company is developing a suborbital space tourism vehicle and plans to conduct the first unmanned suborbital test flight in 2023. After more than ten test flights, the company could start space tourism services for the public.

Source: Xinhua News Agency


Related Links
China National Space Agency
The Chinese Space Program - News, Policy and Technology
China News from SinoDaily.com


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


DRAGON SPACE
Taikonauts in orbit salute China's manned space program on 30th anniversary
Beijing (XNA) Sep 22, 2022
The Shenzhou-XIV taikonauts, who are aboard the Tiangong space station, gave an off-Earth salute to all participants in China's 30-year manned space program on Wednesday. In a celebratory video message released by the China Manned Space Agency, taikonauts Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe raised their right hands to their heads, expressing their appreciation for the country's accomplishments in human space exploration. "We pay the highest respect to veteran leaders, experts and all staff mem ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

DRAGON SPACE
American, Russians reach space station as war rages in Ukraine

Kayhan Space and Precious Payload team to boost access to space traffic management

American, Russians to blast off for ISS as war rages in Ukraine

Axiom Space and Turkey sign agreement to send first Turkish astronaut to space

DRAGON SPACE
NASA scraps Tuesday Moon launch due to storm

SpaceX's Florida launch seen as far as New York, Massachusetts

Maritime Launch and Skyrora partner to launch Skyrora XL from Spaceport Nova Scotia

Rocket Lab selects NASA Stennis Space Center for Neutron Engine Test Facility

DRAGON SPACE
InSight hears its first meteoroid impacts on Mars

Number of ancient Martian lakes might be dramatically underestimated

Sols 3599-3600: A Stay and Play Kind of Day

China's Mars rover expected to resume work in December

DRAGON SPACE
China's manned space program attracts more public attention

Taikonauts in orbit salute China's manned space program on 30th anniversary

Space missions bring Down-to-Earth benefits

Shenzhou XIV astronauts in 4-hour spacewalk

DRAGON SPACE
Regions keep dark skies alight with constellations

Who wants to go to the moon? Europe names astronaut candidates

Rocket Lab hosts Investor Day in New York

Viasat and Inmarsat receive UK Govt approval for proposed merger

DRAGON SPACE
3D printing drones work like bees to build and repair structures while flying

ATLAS awarded SBIR contract for space domain awareness

Harnessing new propulsion technology for Earth monitoring

SAIC and Rogue Space Systems partner to deliver services for objects orbiting Earth

DRAGON SPACE
Big planets get a head start in pancake-thin nurseries

SwRI scientist helps identify new evidence for habitability in Enceladus's ocean

"Blanket-covered" single-molecules: a breakthrough in revealing the origin of life

New exoplanet detection program for citizen scientists

DRAGON SPACE
Juno will perform close flyby of Jupiter's icy moon Europa

Planetary-scale 'heat wave' discovered in Jupiter's atmosphere

First 3D renders from JunoCam data reveal "frosted cupcake" clouds on Jupiter

Jupiter to reach opposition, closest approach to Earth in 70 years









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.