By 
February 25th, 2023
Image credit: CGTN
Zhou Jianping, the chief designer of the China Manned Space Program (CMS), has outlined plans for growth of the country’s space station.
China’s space station, so far, is outfitted with 14 experimental cabinets that have been installed, with the country eyeing the encouragement of international cooperation.
“We have been doing things in this sector. For example, together with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, we collected a group of experiment projects from around the world and we will begin to set them in orbit soon,” Zhou told China Global Television Network (CGTN) reporter, Zheng Yibing.
China’s Xuntian space telescope.
Image credit: CGTN/Inside Outer Space screengrab
“In science experiments, we have close cooperation with other countries, for example, the Xuntian space telescope which involves the international participation and an international evaluation panel,” Zhou added.
“We are preparing the science applications of the telescope and organized four science centers,” Zhou explained.
Image credit: CGTN/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Station expansion
The China Space Station was completed by the end of 2022 with a configuration of three modules: the Tianhe core module and the Wentian and the Mengtian lab modules.
Zhou spotlighted robot arm technology and bioregenerative life support system hardware as key station developments.
Image credit: CGTN/Inside Outer Space screengrab
According to Zhou, CMS has outlined the future mode of station expansion.
“We could develop it to a six-module configuration with a total weight of about 180 tons,” he said. Furthermore, the chief designer said that the designed life of the station is ten years, but could be expanded to 15, 20 or even 30 years. “This is a big challenge, not just expansion, but technology upgrades as well,” Zhou said.
Image credit: CGTN/Inside Outer Space screengrab
In the foreseeable future, Zhou said, “we will send the Chinese to step on the Moon. We will explore how human beings can use the resources on the Moon and how to live on the moon for a long period and get ready for manned deep space exploration,” he said.
To view the CGTN exclusive interview with Zhou Jianping and an embedded video (wait for full upload), go to:
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-02-24/VHJhbnNjcmlwdDcwNzQ3/index.html
Posted in Space News
