An exclusive interview with the heroic astronaut Tang Hongbo, a panoramic review of the dream journey of "space business trip"

From entering the Tianhe core module on June 17 to the successful landing of the Shenzhou XII manned spacecraft return capsule at the Dongfeng landing site on September 17, astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo spent three months in the space station. For Tang Hongbo, this was his first flight mission. What is life like in the space station? What deep impressions did his first space trip leave on him? Today, Xiao Tai takes you to this dream journey of astronaut Tang Hongbo.

Three astronauts set off for the mission. Xinhuanet

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"I remember one night before I returned, I dreamed that I returned to Earth and reunited with my family. I wanted to show them my space skills and do a somersault, but as soon as I jumped up, I fell to the ground and realized that I had lost my 'special abilities'. I suddenly felt a little lost." Two months after returning to the ground, Tang Hongbo recalled his life in space with nostalgia on his face.

The small objects in the cabin seem to have a pair of wings, flying around.

Back to 9:22 am on June 17, 2021, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, as Commander No. 0 counted down, Tang Hongbo, who was on the Shenzhou XII spacecraft, concentrated and held his breath, about to embark on his first space journey.

File photo: At 9:22 on June 17, the Long March 2F Yao 12 carrier rocket carrying the Shenzhou 12 manned spacecraft ignited and launched on time at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, successfully sending three astronauts, Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo, into space. Xinhua News Agency

"Ignite!" The rocket soared into the sky with an orange-red tail flame. Nie Haisheng and Liu Boming specially reserved the "golden viewing seat" closest to the porthole for Tang Hongbo. After the rocket entered space, he eagerly opened the porthole and was immediately shocked by the beautiful scene and was speechless. In the quiet and vast deep space, the earth emitted a light blue light, and the blue and white lines were interlaced, quiet and soft, mysterious and magnificent, and Tang Hongbo was deeply attracted.

About 6.5 hours later, the spacecraft docked with the Tianhe core module. Nie Haisheng opened the hatch leading to the core module, and the three crew members "floated" into the new "home" and became the first residents. They had been working for 16 hours in a row and did not care about being tired, and started to set up without stopping. However, Tang Hongbo, who had just arrived, did not adapt to the space environment as quickly as the two elder brothers. At first, he could roam freely like a fish. When the novelty was replaced by dizziness, he felt nauseous in his stomach. He had to stop working and quickly went to the "bedroom" to lie down.

The space station has a rich variety of meals. Researchers have carefully developed more than 120 kinds of food, which are divided into six categories: staple food, side dishes, ready-to-eat food, beverages, functional food and condiments. The menu is rotated once a week. Flexible and efficient sterilization technology is used in the process, and the sensory quality of dishes and side dishes is greatly improved, and efforts are made to achieve rich varieties and delicious taste. In the space station, the only freshly made food is yogurt. After adding water to the pre-made yogurt, put it in the food heating device and wait for 5 hours to get fresh and delicious yogurt.

The menu design not only focuses on nutrition and health and mission requirements, but also takes into account the astronauts' personal dietary preferences. Tang Hongbo is from Hunan and loves spicy food. He likes to spread a layer of chili sauce on white rice. Nie Haisheng likes to eat braised pork chops and rice cakes. Liu Boming likes to eat brown sugar glutinous rice cakes. Zongzi is a common hobby of the three of them.

Eating is also a happy moment for them. They sit cross-legged in the air, chatting and eating. From time to time, small pieces of food "fly" out of the packaging bags, and they will perform aerial catches. For Tang Hongbo, the small objects floating in the cabin bring him endless fun. Like a dream, all the objects seem to have vitality, with wings, flying around. Once, when Tang Hongbo was on a video call with his family, he showed his son an apple, but when he turned around, the apple disappeared. The three people searched the cabin and finally found it in a corner behind a cabinet. Tang Hongbo couldn't help but tease that it was really an apple that could play hide-and-seek.

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The sky is as dark as ink, and the stars are so bright that I was stunned for a moment.

Tang Hongbo will never forget his first extravehicular activity on the space station. Before leaving the spacecraft, Tang Hongbo was worried that he would be scared when facing the deep space. But after he really walked out of the spacecraft, he completely forgot about the nervousness. After hundreds of hours of extravehicular training, wearing the optimized and modified second-generation "Feitian" extravehicular suit, Tang Hongbo was able to perform various operations very skillfully. During the extravehicular emergency drill, it took him only more than 10 minutes to quickly climb back into the cabin from the wall, which was faster than the ground simulation training.

When Tang Hongbo had time to look around, he felt that the universe he was in was as stunning as depicted in science fiction movies, with space as dark as ink and stars shining brightly. Tang Hongbo held onto the wall of the cabin and was stunned for a while.

Tang Hongbo also encountered an embarrassing incident. Once, after finishing his work outside the cabin, he was carrying equipment into the cabin and accidentally floated in the middle of the cabin, unable to reach anything. After more than ten minutes, Tang Hongbo slowly floated to the vicinity of the cabin.

Being in a small environment for a long time will inevitably make you feel bored. Fortunately, in their spare time, the crew can call their families and colleagues at any time and watch news, movies and other content uploaded to them by the staff regularly. After a group of space photos taken by Tang Hongbo were transmitted back to Earth, they became popular all over the Internet and triggered enthusiastic responses from netizens. He read the comments of netizens over and over again.

Tang Hongbo said: "In space, he also misses life on Earth, misses the feeling of being down to earth, and misses his family and friends. Whenever he has time, he will lie by the window and stare at the Earth." During the day, most of the Earth's surface is covered by blue ocean, with large white clouds floating above. You can also see golden deserts, white snow-capped mountains, green grasslands, and brown mountains, like a translucent crystal ball; at night, when the lights are connected together, the Earth will become a dazzling night pearl.

Photo by astronaut Tang Hongbo

Photo by astronaut Tang Hongbo

Photo by astronaut Tang Hongbo

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I heard the applause from the ground through my headphones. It felt so good to be home.

Three months have passed and it's time to go home.

When the ground issued a "return" command to the spacecraft, the spacecraft began to "brake" on the orbit. During the orbit-return separation, the spacecraft descended steadily. During the push-return separation, the spacecraft gradually entered the atmosphere, and the acceleration became greater and greater. Due to the atmospheric resistance, the spacecraft began to shake and decelerated sharply. Tang Hongbo's sense of weightlessness gradually disappeared. He deliberately picked up the pen in the flight manual towards the camera, and the pen fell down as soon as he let go.

When gravity gradually recovered, Tang Hongbo felt himself falling onto the seat, and he quickly fastened his seat belt.

After entering the black barrier area, the thrilling moment arrived. The fast-flying spacecraft rubbed against the atmosphere violently, and the temperature reached 1,000 to 2,000 degrees Celsius, burning the portholes red. Inside the spacecraft, it felt like sitting in a fireball. Liu Boming joked, "True gold is not afraid of fire." At the same time, the ablation-resistant layer on the outer surface of the spacecraft was constantly peeling off, and the flames splashed everywhere like countless meteors. At this time, the spacecraft was like a small meteor, moving towards the earth.

After flying out of the black barrier area, the spacecraft's speed gradually decreased. When it was 10 kilometers above the ground, the spacecraft threw away the parachute cover and quickly brought out the guide parachute. Although the parachute opening process only took more than 20 seconds, the spacecraft shook violently at this time, as if it was being pulled desperately in the air by several forces.

When the parachute was fully opened, the spacecraft stopped shaking and fell smoothly. Tang Hongbo resisted the churning feeling in his stomach. At this time, he heard applause from the ground in his headphones, indicating that the spacecraft was safe and could land smoothly. The three crew members smiled at each other, and finally completed the mission successfully.

On September 17, the return capsule of the Shenzhou XII manned spacecraft successfully landed at the Dongfeng landing site. Astronauts Nie Haisheng (center), Liu Boming (right), and Tang Hongbo exited the spacecraft safely and smoothly. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ju Zhenhua

With a loud bang, the spacecraft landed. They finally landed safely and saw their motherland and relatives. "It feels so good to be home!" said Tang Hongbo.

This article was published in the People's Daily on December 22, 2021, page 15

Original title: "A Magnificent Space Dream Journey - An Interview with Shenzhou XII Astronaut Tang Hongbo"

Source: People's Daily

Author: Yu Jianbin, Zhan Kang