What does it feel like to “feel good”?

On July 5, astronaut Wang Yaping wrote an article in the People's Daily, describing the extravehicular activities of the Shenzhou 13 crew.

When I opened the door to the universe and found myself in the vast universe, I felt like I had traveled to another time and space. The beauty of the universe is incomparable, and the blue planet we live on is suspended in the middle of it, calm, beautiful and peaceful. Seeing such a scene, I was unconsciously deeply moved.

This is the highlight moment for our Shenzhou 13 crew. Behind us are countless Chinese astronauts who work day and night to lift and support us in realizing our dreams.

This is a photo taken at the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center on November 8, 2021 of Shenzhou 13 astronaut Wang Yaping (right) completing her extravehicular mission. Source: Xinhua News Agency

Extravehicular activities are one of the key technologies of manned space flight. Only when we master the extravehicular technology and carry out extravehicular operations can we be called a real space explorer. In 2008, my country carried out the first space extravehicular activity for astronauts, becoming the third country in the world to independently master the key technology of space extravehicular activities for astronauts. Since then, the Shenzhou XII crew has carried out two more extravehicular activities. In November 2021, the baton was passed to our Shenzhou XIII crew.

The flight mission we carried out, from taking off on October 16, entering orbit, docking and entering the Tianhe core module, to leaving the module on November 7, we not only had to transport work and living materials, install and debug dozens of equipment, and conduct various scientific experiments with strict time limits, but also conduct pre-experiments on extravehicular suit operation in a weightless state. We practiced these movements repeatedly until a few days before leaving the module. The new generation of Feitian extravehicular space suit, as one of the three extravehicular suit technology systems currently in orbit in the world, is completely independently developed by my country, has superior performance, and can well meet ergonomic requirements.

The EVA was scheduled for the afternoon of November 7, Beijing time. The day's plan was scientific and compact. The three of us were divided into: 01 astronaut Zhai Zhigang (commander) was responsible for carrying out operations on the robotic arm; 02 astronaut - I will climb to the operation point to work together and conduct ergonomic verification of the upper and lower robotic arms; 03 astronaut Ye Guangfu was responsible for providing support in the core module. The EVA was designed to last 6-8 hours, during which only 500 ml of water could be replenished.

On the day of the extravehicular activity, after a simple cleaning and meal, we immediately started the intense pre-exvehicle preparations, including setting the cabin status, setting the extravehicular suit status, sorting out the node cabin items, preparing the extravehicular manual, and quickly going through the extravehicular activity procedures. Under the highly compact work rhythm, several hours passed unknowingly.

At 16:30, Commander Zhai Zhigang and I entered the Tianhe core module node cabin, put on the extravehicular space suits, and began the final "gate-passing" preparations before the extravehicular activity. Ye Guangfu also took his position in front of the core module's robotic arm operating table.

The extravehicular operation is completed, and the construction of China's space station has made another step forward

"Open the EVA door and begin EVA activities."

At 18:51, Commander Zhai Zhigang opened the hatch of the Tianhe module and began to exit the module. This was the first time a commander had performed an extravehicular activity in 13 years. When he exited the module, he confidently reported to us and the ground: "02, 03, I am 01, I have exited the module and I feel fine."

I immediately understood and replied: "I am 02, I will go out of the cabin in a while, I feel good." Ye Guangfu also replied: "I am 03, I will go out of the cabin next time, I feel good.

These three "feel good"s quickly became popular on the Internet, and netizens called us the "feel good crew" on a business trip to the Chinese space station. What's more interesting is that the Shuguang post on the ground also replied "Shuguang understands" three times. This confident and humorous dialogue between heaven and earth shows the incomparable calmness and confidence of our astronauts and all the scientific researchers of China's manned space program.

Afterwards, the commander installed the foot limiter, and I helped him to confirm the manipulator at the hatch, and transferred the double-arm combination adapter and suspension device to be installed during this time. The manipulator slowly left the hatch and moved to the operation point, and I was about to leave the cabin.

At 20:28, I exited the node module hatch, supporting my arms steadily on the circular armrests, my body completely in the vast space. I excitedly reported: "02 has exited the module!" The Shuguang post on the ground replied: "Shuguang understands, 02, how do you feel?" I replied: "02 feels good!" Shuguang replied: "Shuguang understands." Then there was warm applause from the ground flight control center and the astronaut support room!

The moment I left the cabin, I was shocked by the beauty of the universe. The depth of the universe was beyond my expectation, and the tranquility of the universe was unimaginable. That feeling was a magic and beauty that I had never experienced before. The moment I floated out of the cabin, my body instantly flew up. I even wondered if I hadn't held on to the handrails, if the safety rope broke free, would I fly to another planet like an alien. The universe outside the cabin was so quiet. If I hadn't heard the calls from my companions, if I hadn't heard the voices from the ground flight control center from time to time in my earmuffs, I would have almost forgotten the existence of the outside world and completely integrated into a brand new self. At that moment, it seemed as if I was no longer myself, and at that moment, it seemed as if there was only one me in space.

Because of this spacewalk, I have truly realized my dream of walking in space and reaching for the stars! At this moment, the sun shines from behind me, interweaving and blending me, the space station, the "gold" of the space suit, the "depth" of the universe and the "blue" of the earth in a quiet scene. My eyes are filled with tears, and I am extremely excited: beautiful space, here I come!

Then, I started to transfer independently, starting from the circular handrail of the hatch exit of the third quadrant node cabin, transferring along the main path to the fourth quadrant of the small column section, and then moving towards the work point.

Keep going, keep going! The process of autonomous transfer is a little different from underwater training on the ground. The operation of the clothing safety rope and the speed control of climbing are particularly critical. In this process, physical energy is consumed a lot. Time passed quickly, and I arrived at the operation point. I slowly deflected my body 180 degrees to make room for the commander Zhai Zhigang to arrive at the operation point. While waiting for the commander to arrive, I also had a little time to appreciate the beauty of space. The universe is so beautiful, and the depth of space is fascinating. The Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft, the small column section of the core module, the large flexible solar wing, the Tianzhou 3 cargo spacecraft solar wing and the moving large mechanical arm, as well as the commander and me, constitute a dream picture, which has the beauty of technology, the beauty of courage, and the beauty of pursuing dreams!

The robotic arm supports extravehicular operations by adopting the scheme of "ground control as the main and astronauts in orbit assisting in control". After the commander arrived at the operation point, Ye Guangfu, who was in the cabin, controlled the robotic arm to adjust the operation position through the robotic arm console. The commander neatly completed the installation of the suspension device, the installation of the double-arm combination adapter, and passed the power-on test. After the Wentian experimental module docks in orbit in July this year, the small robotic arm carried by it can dock with the large robotic arm through the double-arm combination adapter, thereby forming a cascaded combination robotic arm. With the support of the robotic arm's cabin surface crawling function, it can achieve full access to the outer surface of the space station.

After the ground confirmed that the suspension device had locked the double-arm combination adapter, the commander and I climbed and carried the robotic arm back to the hatch, and I performed a typical operation test on the robotic arm near the hatch. Standing on the "star component" - the robotic arm foot limiter, looking at the vast space, I felt surprisingly peaceful. After the test, I couldn't help but open my arms and embrace the space in my dream while standing on the robotic arm foot limiter. The space I see is beautiful, and the space embraced by my arms is even more beautiful!

At 1:16 on November 8, 2021, after about 6.5 hours of EVA, the commander and I returned to the node module and closed the EVA hatch. This indicates that the EVA was successfully completed! The dispatcher at the Shuguang post said in a cordial and excited voice: "All EVA operations for Shenzhou 13 have been completed. I like your close cooperation and perfect performance." I also replied excitedly: "Thank you Shuguang, thank you everyone! The construction of the space station has made another step forward, and the excitement of China's spaceflight continues. Let's cheer together!"

At 2:20, Ye Guangfu opened the two-way pressure hatch in the cabin and entered the node cabin. He said excitedly: "I am here to pick you two up. Come on, accept 03's hug!" The "feel good crew" hugged each other tightly, tears filling their eyes. Even the experienced commander excitedly danced the "circle dance" with us at this time.

Hard training is to be handy when leaving the cabin

The success of the extravehicular activity is the result of more than a decade of hard training. 12 years ago, I gloriously joined the Chinese astronaut team, always ready to go into space for the motherland.

Everything was brand new. From then on, I sat back in the classroom after more than a decade, holding up the space flight textbook. There were dozens of courses that required exams and all the subjects had to be passed. But this was just an entry-level test, and the training programs that challenged the physiological limits followed one after another: dizzying vestibular training, centrifuge training that was like a mountain pressing down on one's head, low-pressure training close to vacuum...

Overweight endurance training is a very challenging training program. After becoming an astronaut, the training process was more difficult than the last one, from 4G at the beginning, to 6G later, and finally 8G. 8G means that within 30 seconds, you have to bear a weight equivalent to 8 times your own body weight. The moment the centrifuge started to turn, my face was deformed by the huge centrifugal force, as if it was not my own. Even the tears that were held back in my eyes were thrown out abruptly. The weight of 8 times my body weight pressing on my chest made it difficult for me to breathe. Despite this, I gritted my teeth and persevered every time. The training results were successfully upgraded from Level II to Level I. The day I knew the test results, I excitedly wrote the words "Centrifuge Assessment Level I" in my diary.

I still can't forget every minute and every second of our underwater training for the day of going out of the spacecraft. Underwater training is a very time-consuming and labor-intensive project. Participants have to overcome the resistance of water 10 meters underwater and conduct 4-6 hours of operation training... "All training subjects are completed, you can go out of the water!" Every time I complete the training subjects according to the scientific and step-by-step training plan of the researchers, when I hear the command of "reach the standard" from the training commander, although I am physically exhausted, I am indescribably excited after reaching the standard of training. I know that I am one step closer to the goal of going out of the spacecraft in my heart.

Every astronaut is eager to take that step into space. As the astronaut's flying uniform, a well-fitting extravehicular suit is the key to the smooth and successful extravehicular activities. In order to achieve the best human-suit fit, we need to continuously conduct extravehicular suit operation training under a pressure of 40 kPa. An extravehicular suit is constantly put on and taken off, and a gas-liquid combination plug is plugged in and out. Repeated training is done tirelessly so that we can be handy and operate freely at the moment of leaving the cabin.

Shenzhou 13 crew

In fact, it is not only the "feeling good crew" who successfully left the spacecraft, but also tens of thousands of Chinese astronauts. I still remember clearly that in the months before the mission, each project was racing against time for training, and all researchers were racing against time to formulate and review the plans and plans for each link of the mission, and to further confirm and test the product performance and system conditions of the mission. The reason why we are extremely relieved for every mission is because we know that no matter where we are, there will be pairs of eager eyes watching us; the reason why we are extremely relieved for every mission is because we know that no matter what changes there are in our physical condition, there will be caring greetings ringing in our ears...

For thousands of years, whether it is the romantic imagination of Chang'e flying to the moon or the yearning for the brilliant stars, the Chinese nation has never stopped asking questions about the sky. Today, the construction of China's space station is in full swing. The astronaut crew of Shenzhou 14 has entered the Tianhe core module, the Wentian laboratory module is about to be launched, and the Mengtian laboratory module will follow closely. The Chinese people's own "star-picking building" - the space station is about to be completed, and Chinese astronauts are about to embark on a new journey. In order to realize the dream of mankind to embrace the stars and the sea, we space explorers are always ready!

Editor-in-charge｜Zhai Qiaohong Editor｜Jiang Yue

Source: People's Daily (July 5, 2022, Page 20) Author: Wang Yaping (Special Astronaut of the Chinese Astronaut Corps), original title: "Exit the Spaceship and Embrace the Vast Space (Reading and Learning New Things)"