Chinese astronauts to experiment with lunar bricks in space. Bricks to be sent in separate uncrewed cargo spaceflight to Shenzhou-19 crew next month.
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China launched three astronauts on Wednesday to its permanently occupied space station, where they will perform dozens of scientific experiments, some focused on the development of human habitats.
China Pursue Lunar Bricks in Space in Upcoming Mission
The Shenzhou-19 spacecraft and its three crew members blasted off atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China at 4:27 a.m. (2027 GMT), according to state media.
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“During the Shenzhou-19 flight. 86 space sci-tech experiments will be conducted in the fields of space life sciences, microgravity physics, materials, medicine, new technologies,” Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Lunar Bricks to be Exposed to Space Environment
Among those experiments is the one on bricks made from simulated lunar soil, which are supposed to be exposed to the conditions in space.
If the tests go well, the bricks could be a main material to be used in a permanent lunar research station. China aims to do this by 2035. Of course, it would be much more practical to have these building materials there than to ship them from Earth.
The bricks are scheduled to fly aboard a separate uncrewed cargo spaceflight that will launch for the Shenzhou-19 crew next month.
The Shenzhou crewed spaceflights have been a regular feature of China’s space program for two decades and, in recent years, are increasing as China built and began operating its “Tiangong” space station, completed officially in November 2022.
Fast development in China’s manned and unmanned space program alarmed the United States, which has issues with its own crewed spaceflights.
Two NASA astronauts have been marooned at the International Space Station since June, when they arrived on board Boeing’s Starliner capsule, due to unanticipated problems with the spacecraft’s propulsion system. They will return in February 2025 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
According to CMSA Lin on Tuesday, the emergency response plan has been “continuously optimized” in order not to repeat a similar case in which astronauts need more time to deal with scenarios such as damage from space debris that occurred with Shenzhou-19.
The Shenzhou-20 and its carrier rocket prepared and on standby for deploying in case of an emergency rescue mission.
MARES TO THE MOON: Chinese astronauts to experiment with lunar bricks
Since the Shenzhou-14 liftoff in June 2022, all missions have been crewed by three astronauts and will stay for six months. The departing crew hands over to the incoming crew over an overlap period of several days. The Shenzhou-19 crew is expected to return to Earth next year, probably sometime in April or May.
Lin pointed out that two of the three astronauts who crewed Shenzhou-19 were born in 1990 and flew for the first time, and Wang Haoze was the third female Chinese national who went into space.
Crewed Mission to the Moon: Chinese astronauts to experiment with lunar bricks
The crew commander is 48-year-old Cai Yuzhe, who was among the crew members who finished constructing Tiangong aboard Shenzhou-14. All three crew members are part of the Chinese military’s air force.
As Tiangong marks its second anniversary, China has shifted its focus to the aim of landing a manned mission on the moon by 2030. In May, China’s Chang’e-6 lunar probe was launched from the island province of Hainan and successfully returned a month later.
Although the mission was unmanned, its completion made China the first country to retrieve samples from the moon’s far side.
Of the crew members on Shenzhou-19, two are relatively young, fitting into the third batch of astronauts for future flights. This will be the fourth to be announced; in 2022, said Lin, and for the first time ever, these will be the ones concentrated more on lunar landings and not solely on flying to the Tiangong space station.
“The training content of the fourth batch will further expand the space abilities of astronauts, from space control and lunar rover driving to celestial body identification and geological exploration, from weightless floatation in space to heavy loads on the moon,” said a CMSA official.
Bricks to be sent in separate uncrewed cargo spaceflight to Shenzhou-19 crew next month
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