China Space Day Aerospace Science Week Themed Event Held in Songzi, Hubei; Immersive Space Science Museum 'No.9 Universe' Opens Simultaneously

On the occasion of the sixth 'China Space Day', the 'Realize Space Dreams, Set Sail for the Future' Aerospace Science Week launched on April 21 in Songzi City, Hubei Province. The event was co-hosted by the News and Publicity Center of the China National Space Administration and the Jingzhou Municipal People's Government, aiming to popularize aerospace knowledge, inherit the aerospace spirit, and inspire young people to explore the unknown. At the same time, China's largest immersive aerospace science museum, the 'No.9 Universe Aerospace Exploration Center', was also completed and opened in Songzi.

On the morning of April 21, the launching ceremony of the Aerospace Science Week was held at the No.9 Universe Aerospace Exploration Center. Meng Hua, Director of the News and Publicity Center of CNSA; Yu Qi, Secretary-General of the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization; Qian Yonggang, professor and son of Qian Xuesen; Zhao Chuandong, one of China's first astronauts; Huang Tingsong, Vice Mayor of Jingzhou; Huang Xianglong, Party Secretary of Songzi; Huang Wei, Chairman of Jinsong Group; Peng Yuanyuan, co-founder and President of Commsat, and others attended the event.

Since 'China Space Day' was designated as April 24 each year in 2016, in response to the call to develop the space industry and build a space power, the China National Space Administration has organized themed activities for the whole public, especially young people, during Space Day, and called on various places to hold space-themed activities. This year's Space Day theme is 'Set Sail and Soar to the Nine Heavens'.

At the launching ceremony, Meng Hua, Director of the News and Publicity Center of CNSA, expressed high expectations for No.9 Universe: 'Great undertakings begin with dreams, are based on innovation, and are achieved through hard work. I hope the No.9 Universe Aerospace Exploration Center can open a door of exploration for children, sow the seeds of loving science. I wish more young people, by stepping into aerospace, can understand aerospace knowledge and the striving spirit of aerospace personnel, build youth dreams, pursue self-reliance and self-improvement, help healthy growth, and gather strong strength for the early realization of the Chinese Dream and the Space Dream.'

In recent years, the 'aerospace culture craze' has led to the opening of many space venues and theme parks, mostly focused on sightseeing. The No.9 Universe Aerospace Exploration Center is the first to transform aerospace technological achievements into immersive experience projects. Songzi No.9 Universe was jointly built by Commsat and Jinsong Group, covering an area of 30 mu (about 2 hectares), with five core experience areas: Astronaut Training Zone, Moon Zone, Mars Zone, Deep Space Zone, and Universe Origin Zone, and more than 40 immersive interactive exhibits. It has also developed aerospace study courses and themed activities for different school stages.

Peng Yuanyuan, co-founder and President of Commsat, shared the original intention of No.9 Universe: 'We hope that young people can improve their aerospace science and technology literacy in happiness, cultivate rigorous systems engineering thinking, and the hands-on ability to face challenges.'

In the No.9 Universe Flight Control Hall, visitors can experience 'Earth-Sky Communication', receive real satellite flight status, view professional data such as orbital altitude and satellite temperature, and also design and assemble satellite models. In the 1:1 replica of the space station core module 'Tianhe', they can understand the interior structure and unlock the astronauts' space perspective. Through scene creation and weight-balancing technology, visitors can transform into astronauts, walk out of the spacecraft, and perform highly challenging extravehicular tasks. The Mars rover uses a six-degree-of-freedom platform to simulate the bumps and jolts of driving, reproducing the harsh environment on Mars. With holographic interactive imaging technology, they can see space scenes such as stars and black holes, and learn about gravity, celestial orbit evolution, and internal structure of celestial bodies.

Multiple aerospace experts deeply participated in the creative process of 'No.9 Universe', inspiring the birth of many new interactive scenes. For example, in a weightless environment, astronauts' sense of direction decreases, and they may not be able to judge the direction of body movement and forward distance. Wearing the 'Magnetic Shoes' developed by No.9 Universe, visitors can stand upside down or even 'walk on walls', truly experiencing the astronauts' movement sensation. In the 'Weightless Water Tank', visitors can conduct underwater weightlessness training, a mandatory project for astronauts' extravehicular tasks. It uses buoyancy balancing to give people a floating sensation similar to space weightlessness in water.

Zhao Chuandong, one of China's first astronauts, gave a vivid popular science lecture titled 'Racing Across the Sky, Chasing the Space Dream'. He called on young people to embrace the stars and the sea and join the ranks of astronauts. 'Because aerospace can give people broad minds, profound knowledge, strong bodies, good psychological qualities, and allow them to experience the fearless spirit of human pursuit of excellence from a higher dimension, understand the true meaning of life, and realize their self-worth.'

2021 is a big year for global aerospace. Ms. Yu Qi, Secretary-General of the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization, reviewed the highlights of global aerospace this year in her speech: 'Chang'e-5 retrieved lunar soil, Ingenuity flew on Mars, and humanity's ambition to fly has extended from near-Earth to deep space. Tianwen-1 arrived at Mars orbit, ready to complete China's first landing on Mars at any time. The UAE's Hope Mars Probe also entered Mars orbit, beginning a two-year scientific data collection. This Space Day, we also welcome the completion of the BeiDou global network, and the core module of the Tiangong space station is ready to launch. China's space infrastructure, centered on Gaofen, BeiDou, and Tiangong, is becoming increasingly complete. For Chinese people, the biggest difference this Space Day compared to previous years is the grand opening of the No.9 Universe Aerospace Exploration Center. Just like this year's theme 'Set Sail and Soar to the Nine Heavens', No.9 Universe adds a new landmark to the Chinese space dream. We look forward to it becoming a model for youth science education in China and even the Asia-Pacific region.'

During the ceremony, Shi Bohua, Secretary of the Third Institute of China Aerospace Systems Science and Engineering Research Institute, awarded the No.9 Universe Aerospace Exploration Center the plaque of 'Aerospace Science Popularization Base'.

Huang Tingsong, Vice Mayor of Jingzhou, stated that Songzi introduced cooperation with Beijing Commsat, exploring a new model of science popularization activities with enterprises as the main body, market-oriented, and professional. Jingzhou is willing to cooperate extensively with China's aerospace management departments, aerospace experts, and aerospace enterprises to jointly promote the development of the aerospace industry.

Huang Xianglong, Party Secretary of Songzi City, delivered a speech at the event. He said that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the first year of the '14th Five-Year Plan', and an important year for promoting the construction of a space power. Launching the 2021 'China Space Day' Aerospace Science Week at the province's first immersive aerospace-themed study base is of great significance, conducive to inheriting the manned spaceflight spirit, comprehensively improving the scientific literacy of the whole people, and letting the aerospace spirit stimulate strong innovation vitality and foster rich innovation practices.

Afterwards, the attending guests and students, under the personal explanation of Professor Qian Yonggang, son of Qian Xuesen, visited an important exhibition of this China Space Day Science Week—the Exhibition of Qian Xuesen's Life and Deeds.

During the five-day Aerospace Science Week, the organizers will also successively carry out a series of activities such as the Space Day themed reading week, public experience at the No.9 Universe Aerospace Exploration Center, and Ladybug-1 satellite flashing observation.