China’s space station to conduct over 1,000 research projects

Shanghai: China’s space station will conduct more than 1,000 research projects, promote science popularisation, and enhance international cooperation over the next 10 to 15 years, according to the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilisation under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Serving as a national space laboratory, China’s space station will organise in-depth interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research collaborations in the coming decade, aiming to produce significant scientific and technological achievements and accelerate their application, Ba Jin, deputy director of the center’s application and development division, said on Monday, Xinhua News agency reported.

In the field of space life science and human research, efforts will be made to deepen research in basic biology, biotechnology and transformation, life ecology, and the origin of life, to further reveal the impact mechanisms and response patterns of the space environment on life.

In the field of microgravity physical science, researchers will carry out research on the mechanisms of microstructure and macroscopic property regulation of metals and alloys, to guide material preparation back on Earth, according to Jin.

The Chinese Space Station Telescope (CSST), which is under construction, is expected to achieve significant results on fundamental cosmological issues such as the nature of dark energy and dark matter.

In the field of new space technologies and applications, the focus will be on national strategic needs such as near-Earth and Earth-Moon space, and future manned deep-space exploration and in-orbit services. Efforts will be made in prospective space application projects and key technology verification tests.

According to Jin, more than 180 scientific and application projects have been carried out in orbit, with nearly two tonnes of scientific materials delivered and close to 100 types of experimental samples returned.

More than 500 high-level SCI papers have been published, and over 150 patents have been obtained. Some of the results have been transformed and applied, significantly promoting the development of China’s space science and applications.

As for the direction of space material science, important progress has been made in exploring key scientific issues such as the microstructure, defects, and properties of metals and semiconductors, and preparing functional structural materials with better performance.

The research achievements of microgravity interdisciplinary studies will provide technical support for future lunar and Mars exploration, and promote progress in areas such as clean combustion and energy conservation in China.

China’s space station has also conducted research and in-orbit verification on the space effect mechanisms of domestically produced high-performance, complex, and new electronic components and sensors, Jin said.

–IANS