 "Watch: Chinese astronauts show off their lavish space at Tiangong space station")
Chinese astronauts recently gave a detailed tour of the country’s Tiangong space station currently orbiting Earth at a height of 400 kilometres. The video shared by the Chinese state-owned news agency CCTV shows three astronauts talking about life on the space station and its key features.
The nearly seven-minute-long video shows the lab module, the sleeping space, the kitchen and hot water heater and more. You can also see cherry tomato and lettuce plants growing in the station’s greenhouse. The three astronauts in the video are members of the current Shenzhou-18 crew.
The extremely detailed video gives a glimpse into the otherwise secretive space programme of the country.
The video starts with the three of them introducing themselves before proceeding to show off the amenities and the distinctive features of the space station. It first shows the core module of the station, which they call the most important portion of Tiangong. It serves as the control and module centre of the space station.
In the same section is their dining area, equipped with a heating device, a microwave, a refrigerator and a water dispenser. They also show how they get water out into small pouches since microgravity does not allow it to be poured into cups.
The astronaut talking to the camera also goes on to say that since the three of them come from different parts of China, their tastes differ, and so their food is custom-made to their liking.
Each astronaut has his own sleeping area, with a porthole (window) that is their “window to the universe” which they use to “gaze at our beautiful Earth”.
Preparing to go to the Moon and Mars
You also see two lab modules – Wentian and Megtian – used for different types of experiments. There are animals and plants on board the space station where their development is observed under microgravity conditions. The astronaut explains that the purpose of this section is to reach findings that will help them “lay the foundation for long-term habitation of Moon and even Mars in the future”.
The video also shows how astronauts use the resistance training device to exercise on the space station – dead squats, deep lifts and rowing.
The Shenzhou-18 crew will soon leave for Earth and Shenzhou-19 crew will replace them at the space station.
China has made tremendous growth in its space programme, having assembled three modules of its space station in just two years. It aims to send humans to the Moon by 2030.
