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SCIO press conference on China's progress on space station construction

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After 30 years of development of China's manned space program, the Tiangong space station will finish its construction this year and begin large-scale application. What role will the achievements in space technologies and experiments play in improving people's well-being? Thank you.

Hao Chun:

The manned space program is a lofty but practical cause. Through its development, we can also promote the upgrading of relevant industries and advance economic and social development, which are closely related to the national economy and people's livelihood. I think this is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

The first is to promote scientific and technological development. The manned space program is a scientific and technological activity involving the most complex system, the most intensive technology, and the most active innovation. As sci-tech achievements continue to emerge in the process, they will be directly applied to various fields related to the national economy and people's livelihood. For example, relevant technologies, such as the space liquid rocket engine's combustion and heat transfer system control, can drive the upgrading of pulverized coal pressurized gasification industry, help solve the problem of domestic waste disposal, and effectively improve the efficiency of hydrogen cells. In addition, technologies related to such fields as control, measurement, image processing, and components involved in the development of rockets, spacecraft, the space station, and other aircrafts can help upgrade the industrial intelligent control system. The heat-resistant base technology of the manned spacecraft has been used to make heat insulation materials for civil use. The just-concluded Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics applied a host of space technology outcomes to the opening ceremonies, the closing ceremonies, and the athletes' training equipment, among other areas.

The second is to serve economic growth. Over the past 30 years, preliminary statistics show that more than 4,000 technological achievements of China's manned space program have been widely applied across diverse industries in the national economy, driving technological and technique innovation as well as industrial upgrading in raw materials, microelectronics, machinery manufacturing, communication, and the seed industry, among others. For instance, according to preliminary estimates, space breeding technology has not only promoted crop improvement, but has also been widely used in food processing, bacteria cultivation, biomedicine, and other fields, which has generated direct economic benefits of more than 200 billion yuan so far, and contributed to food security and ecological protection.

The third is to improve people's livelihood. As you all know, some of the convenience food and daily necessities like diapers that we are so familiar with all came from the transformation of manned space technologies. Nowadays, more space technologies will be applied for civil use. For example, space protein crystallization is being researched to develop new drugs to fight against osteoporosis and muscular dystrophy. Furthermore, the manned space environmental control and life support technology, microgravity combustion mechanism research, and new materials research can also be translated and applied in various fields related to people's livelihood and deliver more benefits.

In the future, many scientific experiments and new technology tests in such fields as space life science, space material science, microgravity fluid physics, space technology, and space medicine will be conducted in China's space station, which is expected to make major achievements and breakthroughs in scientific exploration and applied research. At the same time, we believe that more relevant technologies will be transformed to serve social and economic development, the national economy, and people's livelihood.

Thank you.

Shou Xiaoli:

Thank you to all speakers and friends from the media. Today's briefing is hereby concluded.

Translated and edited by Wang Yiming, Wang Qian, Liu Sitong, Wang Yanfang, Duan Yaying, Zhang Junmian, Liu Jianing, He Shan, Yang Xi, Yuan Fang, Xu Kailin, Li Huiru, Zhou Jing, Qin Qi, Xu Xiaoxuan, Chen Xia, David Ball, Jay Birbeck, and Tom Arnstein. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.