Tiangong, the “heavenly palace” that shows China wants to be a space power

China achieved one of the best achievements in the field of astronomy in recent years. Parallel to their missions to the Moon (in particular, to the dark side) and Mars, there is a vital program that will mark their future in this science: their own Space station.

On April 29, the Tianhe (“Heavenly Harmony”) module of the so-called station took off from the Wenchang cosmodrome in the south of the country Tiangong (“Heavenly Palace”). And on October 31 it was completed by Mengtian (“Dream of Heaven”). what would that mean Tiangong for Asian interests?

The start of an astronomical adventure

Vanessa Navarrete, a physicist at the National University of San Marcos Mayor, who teaches astronomy courses on her blog. Let’s talk about the universetells us that China was banned from participating in the International Space Station (ISS), which forced the country to start its own race into space.

“The main thing (having your own space station) is the scientific and technological development that led you to it. Each country must develop its own formula, as Peru does. This development generates new knowledge and patents. The Chinese have launched two previous test stations, evaluated, learned from their mistakes and applied the knowledge gained to the latest, modular design, similar to the International Space Station, but smaller.”

” Space station The eastern country needs China, as they have plans to go to the moon and beyond, and for this it is necessary to study many aspects of life in space, which until now were not so accessible to Chinese astronauts, ”adds the technologist. specialist Fabio Baccaglioni, writing in Fabio.com.ar.

The path to achieving this dream has been more than difficult, but the Chinese space program has, in some respects, a better chance than even the United States.

“While the United States is launching flights with private companies such as SpaceX, as NASA allocates money used for its own launches to other projects to explore the universe, China he is completely dependent on himself in every aspect,” says Navarrete. “China now he has his own station. They have their own launch site on Hainan Island that they want to promote as a tourist attraction, they have their own technology and more human resources than the United States.”

“Exception China on the ISS greatly delayed his space career,” Baccaloni adds. ” Tiangong It is much smaller in size and participation, many space agencies have been added to the ISS, not only NASA, but also Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA and others. This difference in budget also went hand in hand with opportunity and ambition. However, the Chinese effort was born at a time when technology allows you to do more with less.”

With technologies and experiments from all over the world

China involves issuing Tiangong at an important moment: the ISS is about to cease its functions.

NASA has changed its paradigms and while it wants to extend the life of its station with SpaceX until the end of the decade, it is also working with private companies to support them in their own developments and they only need to rent their ships for their scientific research. experiments.

Tiangong (also called CSS by its English acronym) will be operated by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) in low orbit: 340 and 450 kilometers from the surface.

It will have a mass of up to 100 tons and consists of 3 modules where scientific experiments will be carried out in microgravity conditions: its central module is Tianhe, followed by Wentian and completed by Mengtian. The cargo will be delivered under Tianzhou ships.

A separate item deserves its own space telescope: Xuntian, which will be launched in 2024. “They are going to launch a space telescope that will fly near the station in case it needs refueling,” the physicist elaborates. “This will solve problems that have been seen with Hubble and where correction missions have cost millions of dollars.”

Tiangong it is capable of accommodating three taikonauts at all times and being able to conduct experiments. Now they even have their first female taikonaut.

China opens in terms of experiments in orbit. “He called so that other countries could present their projects, and among them there is a Peruvian: The Mars Society Peru. His project is to study the behavior of bacteria in space environments such as microgravity and radiation,” says Navarrete.

This experiment, to which is added “the development of equipment that will keep bacteria in an isolated microenvironment and control their growth,” hopes to contribute to knowledge about the adaptation of pathogens when grown on hard surfaces that resemble internal and external. surface of the human body.

“Development that has China deepened over the past 10 years. They are focused on creating more human resources. They are working with schools: they are doing video conferences from the space station to get the kids interested.”

“Next will be a flight to Mars.”

doubts and risks

China it’s moving by leaps and bounds, but it still leaves questions unanswered. This has been most closely demonstrated with cargo missions on Tiangong: the return of space debris to the planet.

During each launch of the Long March 5B missiles, a piece of garbage always fell into our atmosphere without proper control. This puts every space agency in the world on alert from time to time.

“When you start something from scratch you will make mistakes, that is part of learning. China He works hard and it shows in the exponential progress he is making. There is a small risk if there are unsuccessful launches, but this applies to everyone, not just Chinathe likelihood of an impact on an urban area is low due to the small percentage of the area they occupy on the planet,” says Navarrete.

And to this is added the true interest of publishing what has been learned to the whole world, to add to the exploration of space by mankind as a whole.

“There are already launches (at the level of competing countries), technological capabilities are even lower, Russia has already been forgotten and is practically no rival, China It has long surpassed them, but NASA and ESA are far above it, as their entire academic system is open and with a large participation of companies, public and private universities at the same time. This part, freedom of action, is what China it cannot be solved with a totalitarian system of government that extends to space exploration,” says Baccaloni.

“As a program China is making great strides. But it still lacks the experience that Russia and the US have. In a very short time, they will become maximum power, ”concludes the interviewed expert.

We recommend you METADATA, an RPP technology podcast. News, analytics, reviews, recommendations and everything you need to know about the tech world.