There is a "Yuyang Star" in the universe, he is the "guardian" of the stars

In June 2021, the Asteroid/Comet/Meteoroid Conference (ACM), held every three years in the field of planetary science, failed to take place as scheduled due to the rampant spread of the new coronavirus, but a piece of good news from "outer space" unexpectedly "hit" Yu Yang, a young professor who is devoted to research at the School of Science and Engineering of Beihang University (hereinafter referred to as "BUAA"). "Yu Yang, the International Astronomical Union has named an asteroid after you. I'll send you the link." It was not until Yu Yang received a congratulatory message from a friend on the social platform that he suddenly realized: in the vast universe, among the vast and unknown stars, there is a "Yuyang Star" that is connecting with him in a unique way.

Yu Yang

It was a main-belt asteroid numbered 42175 discovered by the Lowell Observatory Near-Earth Asteroid Search Program on February 1, 2001. Yu Yang has been adhering to the research direction of asteroids for many years, which is mainly reflected in the three aspects of orbital dynamics in irregular weak gravitational fields, the dynamic mechanism of the formation and evolution of small celestial bodies, and the dynamics of particle systems in complex space environments. It is for this reason that the International Astronomical Union clearly pointed out in the announcement of the naming of small celestial bodies that Professor Yu Yang was awarded this naming commendation for his outstanding research results in the fields of irregular small celestial body dynamics and small celestial body evolution.

However, whether it is flowers and applause, or praise and trophies, in front of this post-80s "space explorer", Yu Yang's attitude is always modest, respectful, simple and down-to-earth. He transformed all of these into a firm belief and internal driving force for a long journey on the academic path. This naming is no exception. This experience, like gaining the "guardianship" of a star, instantly ignited the fire of responsibility in Yu Yang's heart. He said, "This is just another step closer to my dream. There is still a long way to go in the future and the deep space is still far away."

Seeking knowledge is the ring of progress

What will the future be like? How will the universe end? Human beings may never get a standard answer based on empty speculation, but science can paint a magical picture of how the future will unfold, and it has been passed down for many years. There is no doubt that the further human exploration goes, the clearer the future will appear before everyone's eyes.

For a child, the earliest and fastest way to get close to "science" may be reading. When Yu Yang was a child, his biggest hobby was reading. Of course, it is not difficult to know from his own account that the formation of this good habit is inseparable from the influence of his family environment. "My father is a dedicated and responsible medical worker, and my mother is a very serious and hardworking person." Yu Yang described his parents who worked in the hospital and the Agricultural Bureau respectively. In his memory, his parents did not have much compulsory supervision and urging on his studies. "The sentence they said most was 'Learning is your own business, and you are responsible for your own life'." Yu Yang did not understand the deep meaning behind it when he was a child, but after hearing it many times, he gradually developed an independent learning habit.

Therefore, the Xinhua Bookstore near his home welcomed a young "regular customer". Whether it was about popular science on plants or conveying knowledge of astronomy and geography, all kinds of books made Yu Yang love them. But gradually, he still located his interest from extensive reading - astronomy, and also understood the essence of his parents' open education philosophy - self-motivation. Since then, cosmic dust and the sea of ​​stars have taken deep root in his heart. Driven by strong interests, in high school, he regarded the obscure and difficult math problems that gave everyone a headache as the key to his dream journey - the more he did, the more excited he became, and the more he studied, the more he felt that science was mysterious and rigorous, and had an indescribable attraction.

In 2005, Yu Yang successfully enrolled in the Aerodynamics and Control major at Beihang University with a college entrance examination score of 640, becoming one of the first students in this major. Although the major had just been opened, Beihang University's achievements in the field of aviation and its philosophy of cultivating people with moral integrity are second to none in the industry. Here, Yu Yang was able to come into contact with top teachers and rich theoretical resources, which made him feel like he was in a treasure land. Therefore, even though the teaching mode of university is completely different from that of high school, and even though a short class may cover dozens of pages of textbook content, he has never backed down because of the pressure. On the contrary, he realized that in the face of a knowledge input process with doubled depth, breadth, and difficulty, only strong self-discipline can ensure that he can forge ahead in the situation of sailing against the current.

"I have to work overtime to learn professional knowledge thoroughly." Yu Yang's unyielding fighting spirit was aroused. "The lights in the university dormitory are turned off at 12 o'clock in the evening, so I will study until 12 o'clock." He never took it lightly, whether getting up early to read or consolidating at night. The 100-meter distance between the library, classrooms and dormitories witnessed this period of "hard work". The lush creepers on the side of the teaching building turned green and yellow. In the end, a recommendation for further studies at Tsinghua University affirmed his growth and temporarily ended this period of persistent and pure "alma mater time".

When standing in the beautiful Tsinghua campus, Yu Yang was in a state of excitement for a long time. "This is not only because I had a 'complex about famous schools' when I was a child, but also because I have always been running in the field I love. At that moment, I felt that my goal of devoting myself to scientific research was not far away," said Yu Yang.

As Yu Yang said, he has been involved in research topics related to aerospace dynamics since his graduate school days. He began to verify the laws of motion in space through a large amount of data analysis and calculations, and strived to control various types of spacecraft to complete the expected tasks according to the trajectory set by scientists in the future. Before graduating with a doctorate and returning to Beihang University, he also studied at the University of Maryland in the United States for one year as a government-sponsored student, and did two years of postdoctoral research at the Nice Observatory of the French National Center for Scientific Research.

This long period of studying abroad has greatly benefited Yu Yang in his research on the changes on the ground when asteroids fly away from the Earth, and the impact of the Earth's gravity on the ground when asteroids approach the Earth. His research work on "Reconstruction of the Surface Weathering Layer of Small Celestial Bodies" in collaboration with his mentor Dirac Richardson has been highly recognized in the industry. The relevant results were published in the academic journal ICARUS in the field of solar system research and were featured in the news section of the Science magazine website. Before returning to China, Yu Yang's mentor praised him highly: "I hope to meet such an excellent student like Yu Yang again."

"Children of the Stars"

The universe is a vast and boundless world, containing countless unknown things, and it also inspires human beings' endless curiosity and desire for knowledge. Carl Sagan, a famous American astrophysicist, once explained in his book: "The iron in our bodies comes from brilliant supernova explosions; the zinc in our blood comes from the dust ejected into the universe by two neutron star collisions; the trace amount of copper needs to witness the demise of a white dwarf; even the most insignificant cobalt comes from nebulae billions of light years away. In a sense, it is normal for humans to be curious about the starry sky. We are eager to witness the limits of the galaxy and the sea, because we are the children of the stars." Therefore, whenever Yu Yang gazes at the stars in the deep sky in the laboratory, he feels that he is also re-examining himself.

"Beihang University is the place where my dream began to shine." Since returning here in 2016, Yu Yang has never forgotten the kindness of his alma mater. Therefore, he studied hard, worked hard, and carried out research closely in conjunction with my country's next deep space exploration plan. On the one hand, he studied the key dynamics and control issues in the exploration mission itself; on the other hand, he solved potential problems in the asteroid defense mission, cross-integrating from aerospace dynamics to the field of planetary science.

With unremitting efforts, Yu Yang was selected for the 2019-2021 Young Talent Support Project of the Beijing Association for Science and Technology in 2018. Relying on this talent plan, he signed a formal cooperation agreement with the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) Côte d'Azur Observatory. In the following three years, he focused on conducting in-depth cooperative research on the direction of "dynamics of particle systems in the evolution of small celestial bodies". Focusing on the scientific mission demonstration of asteroid exploration and the dynamic evolution of planetary systems, he has currently conducted a preliminary analysis of the mechanical environment near small celestial bodies from the orbit, and established a dynamic model of particle/dispersed system, and is committed to studying the dynamic behavior of particles in the complex environment of deep space, thereby revealing several mechanical mechanisms of the formation and evolution of small celestial bodies (whole stars/surfaces).

The moment when Tianwen-1 successfully landed on Mars marked the successful opening of my country's deep space exploration. This resolute and steady step not only made China the second country in the world to successfully land on Mars, but also laid a solid foundation for subsequent Jupiter and asteroid exploration missions. "In fact, we can see that the time interval between my country's launch of deep space exploration spacecraft is getting shorter and shorter, and the results gained have a greater international influence, which shows that our common dream of becoming a space power has blossomed. Today, we have the ability to visit asteroids. The next step must be to continue to seek progress while maintaining stability, and continue to work hard on the already released Tianwen-2 exploration plan, and forge ahead." Yu Yang said.

The sea of ​​stars above our heads holds endless surprises in the infinite unknown. Perhaps one day, humans can "colonize" the entire galaxy, or perhaps, this civilization is destined to be just a fleeting flower on a tiny planet. But from the moment humans became aware of the mysteries of the universe, scientists will never stop exploring the universe. Perhaps, in the future, there will be countless star "guardians" like Yu Yang who will make the same vow to themselves: "I will do my best to stick to the career I love, deeply participate in every asteroid exploration and defense mission entrusted to me by the times and the motherland, find goals in prosperity, experience fun in love, and make contributions to my career."