From driving a tank to driving a spaceship, will the Shenzhou-17 astronauts drive to the moon in the future?

At 11:14 on October 26, 2023, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China, the Shenzhou 17 spacecraft carrying three astronauts, Tang Hongbo, Jiang Xinlin and Tang Shengjie, was successfully launched by the "Shenjian" Long March 2F rocket and headed straight for the Tiangong Space Station. This mission will continue to use the autonomous rapid rendezvous and docking method and will arrive in about 6.5 hours.

(Photo source: CCTV News)

This mission is the second mission after the Tiangong space station was fully built and entered the application and development stage. The three astronauts will continue to "train the new with the old" to cultivate a new generation of talents. So, what are the highlights of this mission?

Part 1

Tang Hongbo returns to Tiangong and becomes a "coach" at the "Shenzhou Driving School"

Tang Hongbo returns to Tiangong and becomes a "coach" at the "Shenzhou Driving School"

Tang Hongbo is one of the second batch of astronauts trained in my country. His first appearance was the Shenzhou 12 mission in June 2021. He entered the core module of the space station "Tianhe" launched in April of that year, achieving the historic feat of "the first time a Chinese has entered his own space station."

Only two years later, this "newbie" returned to the Tiangong Space Station, setting a record for the shortest interval between missions performed by Chinese astronauts. He will serve as the commander of the Shenzhou 17 spacecraft and focus on training a new batch of astronauts.

The Shenzhou 17 astronaut crew, from left to right: Jiang Xinlin, Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie

(Photo source: Manned Spaceflight Office)

The two new faces of this mission, Jiang Xinlin and Tang Shengjie, are the third batch of astronauts selected by my country in 2020. In order to meet the technical and scientific research needs of the manned space program entering the operational period, the third batch of astronauts began to have their own clear responsibilities, including 7 space pilots, 7 flight engineers, and 4 payload specialists. The two newcomers of the Shenzhou 17 mission are both space pilots. As the name suggests, their core responsibility is the operation of the spacecraft during the mission.

Therefore, in this mission, Tang Hongbo will transform into a "coach" of the "Shenzhou Driving School", focusing on training two "novice drivers" to obtain the "driver's license" of the Shenzhou spacecraft. Interestingly, during his military service, astronaut Jiang Xinlin became a tank driver and a fighter pilot, and is now about to become a spacecraft driver. Born in 1988, he is even expected to become the main astronaut for my country's manned lunar landing around 2030, which means he may also drive a lunar rover on the moon. It can be said that Jiang Xinlin has realized many dreams that countless people have dreamed of. This "old driver" who can drive from the surface of the earth to the surface of the moon is really cool.

Jiang Xinlin and Tang Shengjie were once their "little fans" for the first and second batches of astronauts. After a long period of studying and the experience of their chosen careers, they have grown into their colleagues in the space program. Over the past 30 years, the dreams of these newcomers have grown together with China's manned space program, and they have gradually realized their "dreams come true," and have also carried the banner of China's manned space program. What a romantic thing!

Part 2

New phase, new spacecraft, new missions

Since the establishment of the manned space program, after 31 years of development, the entire manned space program system behind a series of romantic terms such as "Shenjian", "Shenzhou", "Tianzhou" and "Tiangong" has been established. To this day, only China, the United States and Russia have mastered independent manned space capabilities. Since the completion of the Tiangong space station in 2022, my country's manned space program has also entered the application and development stage. In other words, all aerospace investment and accumulation must begin to "cash in" to serve the needs of national economic development and scientific research.

Artist rendering of China's Tiangong space station

(Image source: National Space Administration)

To this end, after years of technological accumulation, new models of spacecraft, starting with Shenzhou 17, have undergone targeted technical status changes to better serve the needs of missions and product development. The Long March 2F rocket, known as the "magic arrow", has also made major technical improvements to boosters, etc., allowing the spacecraft to carry dozens of kilograms of items into space, making it more reliable, safe and efficient. Since the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft carried out my country's first manned mission in 2003, this combination of "man, rocket, and ship" has been iterating for a full 20 years, witnessing the leapfrog development of China's aerospace industry.

This mission is the first regular crew rotation since the space station entered the operational period. During the Shenzhou 16 mission, the three astronauts have carried out 70 space application projects, and also conducted extravehicular walks and "Tiangong Classroom" and other activities that have attracted widespread social attention. As this "space laboratory" matures, the Shenzhou 17 mission is expected to carry out more work. It is worth mentioning that this mission will be the first time to conduct extravehicular experimental maintenance through extravehicular activities. This challenging work can raise my country's extravehicular activity capabilities and levels to a new height, and provide strong guarantees for the long-term stable operation of the Tiangong space station.

Part 1

Next step: manned moon landing

From the perspective of historical development, the space age, which has only been around for more than 70 years, has just opened the curtain on a new stage of human development. At present, mankind is still striving to leave the "cradle of mankind" and strive to "stand and walk" in the universe.

As a typical representative of my country's major scientific and technological projects, manned space flight projects have helped my country's cutting-edge technology to make a big leap from "following" to "running side by side". At present, the Tiangong space station is equipped with a huge scientific experiment cabinet system, as well as various scientific payloads inside and outside the cabin that are continuously sent by the Tianzhou and Shenzhou spacecraft. In the future, it will also fly in the same orbit with the survey telescope. my country is exploring the entire vast space at an unprecedented speed. The next step is to strive for the "leading" position.

The moon is the ideal next stop. It is the only natural satellite of the earth, the best springboard for mankind to enter deep space, and the spiritual sustenance of "looking up at the bright moon" in Chinese culture. my country has achieved a series of major technical breakthroughs in the "orbiting, landing, patrolling, and returning" of the moon through the Chang'e Project, and has also achieved the first soft landing on the back of the moon and the first lunar sampling return after 44 years. In the future, Chang'e 6, 7, 8 and the International Lunar Research Station will conduct in-depth research on the moon.

Artistic renderings of Chang'e 4, Yutu 2 and Queqiao. In the future, Chinese people will set foot on the moon.

(Image source: National Space Administration)

At present, the lunar landing phase of my country's manned lunar exploration project has been launched, with the goal of realizing the first Chinese landing on the moon before 2030. Correspondingly, major supporting systems such as the new generation of manned launch vehicles, the new generation of manned spacecraft, the fourth batch of astronauts, lunar landers, lunar rovers, and lunar extravehicular suits are being developed in full swing. Finally, stepping on the moon will realize the great dream of the Chinese people for thousands of years to travel to the moon.

The most interesting thing in the future will be to watch the space "drivers" of the Shenzhou 17 mission "racing" on the moon. Let us look forward to that day together!

Produced by: Science Popularization China

Author: Space Brewing (popular science creator)

Producer: China Science Expo