April 24, 2024 (EIRNS)—The city of Wuhan is celebrating China Space Day on April 24 with a major conference and celebrations. The three new taikonauts who are scheduled to depart on Shenzhou-18 for the Tiangong Space Station on April 25 at 20:59 BJT (12:59 GMT) were presented at the conference and answered questions from the media: commander Ye Guangfu Lin Xiqiang, who is making his second foray into space; and rookies Li Cong and Li Guangsu. Lin Xiqiang, spokesman for the China Manned Space Engineering Project, addressed a press conference outlining the 130 scientific research and application projects now in orbit. The launch of Shenzhou-18 will be aired on Space.com.
There was also a presentation on the top ten scientific issues and technical problems the space program plans to resolve. These include: the problem of gravity field effect in the utilization of extraterrestrial resources; mechanism and method of manipulation of charged particles in space; in situ utilization technology of Mars carbon dioxide for manned deep space exploration; Moon-based square kilometer radio astronomy antenna array construction technology; space computing center construction and operation technology; and ice giant detection mission design and key technologies.
The China Manned Space Engineering Office further announced that program development for the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) is now advanced, completing the work on the carrier rocket, the Mengzhou manned spacecraft, the lunar lander, lunar landing suit and other major flight products. The construction of the Wenchang Manned Lunar Exploration and Launch Site has been fully begun. The program has added three new partner countries and institutions to the International Lunar Research Station project: Nicaragua, the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization, and the Arab Alliance for Astronomy and Space Sciences.
