"China has its first male astronaut, when will there be a female astronaut?" In 2003, China's first manned spacecraft, Shenzhou V, was successfully launched with astronaut Yang Liwei, and Wang Yaping, who was still an Air Force pilot at the time, watched the tail flames of the rocket launch in front of the TV and had such an idea in his mind.
In 2010, after a series of strict selections, Wang Yaping became the first batch of female astronauts in China as she wished; today, with the implementation of the Shenzhou 13 mission, she has also become China's longest-term astronaut in orbit.
Data map: On October 15, 2021, Beijing time, the astronauts of the Shenzhou 13 manned mission were held in the Tiange Square of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Image source: Visual China
On October 16, 2021, astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu boarded the Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft and successfully entered the Tianhe core module, and Chinese astronauts will stay in orbit for the first time for 6 months. This is both the second stick of the flight crew in the Chinese space station mission and the first stick of female astronauts. Wang Yaping, who was known in the past as "China's first space teacher", also set a number of "first" records in this mission.
The Shenzhou 13 mission is Wang Yaping's second voyage into space after the Shenzhou 10 mission in 2013, and she has become the first female astronaut in China to enter space twice and to enter the Chinese space station.
Astronaut Wang Yaping. Courtesy of China Manned Space Engineering Office
Katie Coleman, a former female astronaut of nasa, once extended a blessing to Chinese female astronauts, "When you look at the stars outside the window and see our earth, don't forget, billions of women also look out the window through your eyes." ”
Unlike the mission 8 years ago, flying again, Wang Yaping has a special concern in her heart, that is, her daughter. At the expedition ceremony, the scene of the daughter calling out to her mother in the audience moved many people. On this "business trip" to space, Wang Yaping took a photo of her family and posted it in her sleeping area; in the space lecture, she put the flower origami paper she made with her daughter into the water film to make it "bloom", and on that day, her daughter also watched the mother appear on the big screen in the ground classroom.
Data chart: On November 24, 2021, Wang Yaping "danced" in orbit. Image source: China Manned Space Engineering Office
Wang Yaping said, "The two of us assign tasks to each other, and I hope that she can take good care of herself, take care of her grandmother and grandfather, and study well." She asked me to pick stars for her and her classmates to come back, and to pick a lot and share them with her classmates. ”
Since "staying in Tiangong" for more than 3 months, the on-orbit work and life arrangements of the Shenzhou 13 flight crew have been full. On November 8, 2021, less than a month into space, Wang Yaping completed the first extravehicular activity of the Shenzhou 13 astronaut crew, taking the first step in China's female extravehicular spacewalk.
During the 6.5-hour outgoing activity, she wore the "Shiny Gold" extravehicular space suit newly sent by the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft, and cooperated with Zhai Zhigang to carry out operations such as the installation of the mechanical arm suspension device and adapter parts, and the test of typical extravehicular movements.
The space environment will not change because of the arrival of women, nor will the threshold be lowered because they are women. Two expeditions and the first departure from the cabin put forward higher requirements for daily training. In the physical intensive training, Wang Yaping was 3 minutes ahead of the full score standard in the 3000-meter assessment; in the physical equipment training, she practiced for 1 hour each time in addition to the prescribed class time; in the underwater training of the out-of-the-cabin activity, how long the male astronaut insisted underwater, and how long she also insisted underwater.
Data picture: Wang Yaping in underwater out of the cabin training. Photo by Xu Bu
"From becoming an astronaut to now, every Friday we will make the next week's schedule in advance, and from next Monday onwards, we will train strictly according to the schedule every day." Wang Yaping said in an interview before the expedition that in the first year of becoming an astronaut, there were more than thirty courses, such as advanced mathematics, aerodynamics, astronomy, anatomy, mechanical drawing, etc. During that time, the courses were full during the day and homework was also done in each class at night.
"In those three years, I basically didn't go out of the gate of the space city, I didn't visit the street once, and the table lamp on the table basically didn't go out before 12 o'clock." She said.
While completing tasks such as out-of-module activities and on-orbit experiments, on December 9, 2021, Wang Yaping also carried out the first space lecture on the Chinese space station with Zhai Zhigang and Ye Guangfu. After 8 years, Wang Yaping returned to the post of "space teacher" and stood on the "highest podium" to attend classes.
"Many children like aerospace because of this, and some children have applied for the aerospace major because of this, and even some children have become my colleagues now." She once said in an interview before the flight that it made her feel the meaning of space teaching, and she was particularly touched by the fact that when space was taught, the children who were not born were still looking at the video at that time.
In addition to showing interesting space experiments and popular science space knowledge to primary and secondary school students, the "God Thirteen" astronauts also conducted a "Tiangong Dialogue" with young students in colleges and universities on New Year's Day in 2022, talking about dreams and struggles with young people.
Data chart: On December 9, 2021, the Chinese space station "Tiangong Classroom" was held for the first time. Photo by China News Service reporter Hou Yu
In a few days, Chinese astronauts will spend the Spring Festival in space for the first time Chinese New Year's Eve. When asked in the interview what he brought to the sky, Wang Yaping revealed that bringing a relatively large musical instrument would show the culture of the Chinese nation in the sky, in addition, he also brought "a very condensed gift of love" for Zhai Zhigang and Ye Guangfu, and "surprised them both in the New Year".
6 months of "space travel" is still in progress, Wang Yaping will also surpass herself, continue to refresh the record of time in orbit, as Wang Yaping said, "People often say that flying is an uncertain art, but for us astronauts, it will be determined by our performance in the sky", and people also expect her to continue to write the history of Chinese female astronauts.
Author: Ma Shuaisha
Source: China News Service