Since 2017, the Centre has carefully designed the first series of activities on “Journey of Chinese Aerospace Technology and Culture” integrated with the existing teaching and practice resources. This series of activities is a bold attempt by the Centre to innovate the education and training methods, aiming at enabling participants to have a close contact and understanding of the achievements on China’s space construction and development, realize the profound heritage of Chinese aerospace culture, strengthen international exchanges and cooperation in space industry, and promote China’s aerospace to the world. Over the years that followed, the series has received a warm welcome and high praise from participants.
Due to the impact of COVID-19, the series of activities on “Journey of Chinese Aerospace Technology and Culture” was put on hold. With the participants return to school in this semester, at the blooming spring, this thematic series is launched again after three years. As an extension of traditional classroom teaching, we will continue to focus on the frontier development of space science and technology this year, through a series of academic lectures, scientific and cultural visits, sharing and exchange activities to deepen participants’ understanding of China’s aerospace and enrich their life after school.
On March 17, “Journey of Chinese Aerospace Technology and Culture 2023” set off for the first stop. Participants of the Centre, together with the faculty and staff members, arrived at the National Museum of China to visit the Exhibition of Achievements in China Manned Space Program of 30 Years.
The exhibition comprehensively and systematically reviewed the glorious history of the program over the past 30 years about how to fulfill the dreams with self-confidence, self-improvement and efforts. In 1992, the China Manned Space Program was formally launched and implemented. By 2022, the program had successfully completed the strategic tasks of “three-step” and fully built the China’s space station. At present, the space station has officially entered the phase of application and development.
Entering the exhibition hall, the 1:1 model of the Tianhe core module placed in the center attracted the attention of participants. In the model, details like the sleeping bag used by astronauts for rest and the food displayed in the dining area were within reach, while the module configuration, including working area, sleeping area, dining area, exercise area and many other areas, were clearly visible, presenting a visual feast for the participants who stepped into it.
In addition, the exhibition areas of regenerative environment control and life support systems, space applications, manned lunar exploration and other areas also attracted participants to stop and watch. Besides the models of CZ-2F, CZ-7, CZ-5B and new generation of manned launch vehicle, there also displayed some real objects such as space suits, Shenzhou-13 return capsule, and rocket engines, along with the models of main flight products for manned lunar landing in the future like the new generation of manned spacecraft and lunar lander, etc. All these exhibits made the participants marvel at the amazing high-tech development of China’s manned spaceflight.
Through this activity, the participants gained a deeper understanding of each other and got closer to the faculty and staff members of the Centre. Although many of the participants were new to Beihang University, they have settled in naturally.
The Centre will continue to organize this series of activities on “Journey of Chinese Aerospace Technology and Culture” during this semester. We sincerely hope that this series will enable the participants to systematically understand Chinese aerospace and love it, while inspiring them to be imaginative, inquisitive, innovative and practical, so as to better contribute to the field of space technology.
