On the occasion of the 38th Teachers' Day, the advanced deeds of the "Most Beautiful Teachers" in 2022 were released to the whole society. This year, the "Most Beautiful Teacher" elected the "Most Beautiful Space Teacher" Wang Yaping, a special astronaut of the China Astronaut Center, as a special tribute to the figure, she has taught space for primary and secondary school students 3 times, planting the seeds of dreams for teenagers! Let's listen to Wang Yaping tell the wonderful story of her two-time flying dream and standing on the "space podium".
Space teaching sows dreams
Chinese Astronaut Wang Yaping of the Astronaut Brigade of the People's Liberation Army
At that moment, I felt as if I heard the sound of flowers blooming
I am Wang Yaping, an astronaut in the Shenzhou 13 manned mission. As a "space teacher", I feel particularly satisfied and delighted to be able to stand on the "space podium" three times and share the joys and mysteries of science with everyone. The short time of "connecting heaven and earth" with my classmates will become an extremely precious memory on my future life path.
Becoming a teacher was my childhood dream. I remember that when I was in elementary school, the Chinese teacher would tell us vivid little stories; Math teachers will weave boring numbers into magical fairy tales; The PE teacher is a favorite of the students because she will take us on the school playground to run and play...
Good times are always fleeting, playing and playing, and if we are not careful, we grow up. In middle school, I began to be exposed to a little deeper knowledge. The teacher can tell us the profound physical and chemical knowledge in a simple and simple way. At that time, it seemed that we could glimpse a little scientific mystery from a simple pendulum law or a chemical reaction, and discover the beauty of the universe.
Looking at the teachers who talked on the podium, I was sincerely envious, dreaming that one day I could stand on the podium and pass on the knowledge I had learned to the students without reservation. Teachers, this sacred and beautiful profession, bear the heavy responsibility of disseminating ideas and culture, and play an important role as a bridge and link in the development of human society. This "teacher's dream" has been done for more than ten years.
After graduating from high school, I had the privilege of being an honorable Air Force pilot. As I flew into the blue sky, I was getting farther and farther away from the podium of my dreams. Later, after layers of selection, I was selected for the astronaut brigade of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Needless to say, it is a joy to be an astronaut flying into space. However, I also vaguely feel that I will never have the "teacher's dream" in this life. Who knows, the god of destiny beckoned to me again, giving me the opportunity to realize my dreams.
In 2013, after being selected for the Shenzhou 10 manned mission, I was indescribably excited when I learned that I was about to be able to teach primary and secondary school students across the country a lesson in space. As a teacher, this haunting dream is finally coming true! At that moment, I seemed to hear the sound of flowers blooming, and it was as if there was a bright moon shining into the atrium of the heart, so clear, so bright.
Imagine that before class, students shout "teacher is good" and "teacher is hard" in a childish voice; After the class, the children raised their innocent faces and asked questions to "Teacher Wang" one by one... These were the images I most looked forward to and envied as a child. My heart seemed to be surging with rolling waves, waiting for the moment of realizing my dream.
At the other end of the camera are thousands of pairs of eyes hungry for knowledge
Everyone will have many firsts in their lives, and each first time will mean the unknown and challenges, which will more or less enlighten us. For someone who has never stood on the podium, the experience of being a teacher for the first time is still fresh in my mind.
Space teaching is the first educational application mission in orbit in the history of China's manned spaceflight, and it is also the first time in the history of China's manned spaceflight to carry out science education activities for the whole country and the world.
Mission, unprecedented glory; Responsibility is also unprecedentedly important. The Shenzhou 10 manned flight mission set off with such a sacred goal, and my heart was full of excitement and expectation, but at the same time I was very nervous.
On June 20, 2013, the day of the real space lecture finally arrived. Although there were only 3 of us astronauts standing in the celestial palace, facing only a camera, I knew that at the other end of the camera, there were thousands of pairs of eyes hungry for knowledge watching me. At that moment, I felt incomparably sacred and proud. I am proud to stand in front of thousands of primary and secondary school students!
The space-based mission was a great one, and every experimental demonstration was a success. From the headphones, I could clearly hear the surprised and happy laughter of my classmates, and I also heard the thunderous applause in the classroom. The moment the dream came true, I felt that no matter how much hard work and sweat I put in, it was worth it. Because, the laughter and applause of the children in the classroom is the best reward.
The first space lesson ended quickly, immersed in the class, I was still not exhausted, and the students also remembered it endlessly. I seem to hear a child asking, "Anything else?" Anything else? I also want to see, space is so amazing..."
The title of "Teacher Wang" became the biggest gain I made in completing the Shenzhou 10 manned flight mission. As a teacher, I feel sincerely happy and relieved to be able to sow the dream of spaceflight in the hearts of the children and start their dream journey.
"The flying dream never loses weight, and the tension of the scientific dream is infinite." This sentence is deeply rooted in the hearts of every student. Maybe it's the amazement of my "Hercules", maybe it's the curiosity about measuring mass with Newton's laws, maybe it's being attracted by the infinite tension of water presented by the water membrane experiment, maybe it's fascination with the spinning gyro in space... The first space teaching science education activity has stimulated the majority of primary and secondary school students' yearning for space and enthusiasm for learning scientific and technological knowledge, so that they gradually approached spaceflight, understood spaceflight, and loved space more.
Today, some of those children have entered the university and even gone to society. Some of them have maintained a love of spaceflight, and some have grown up to be members of the space front.
In 2019, Wang Nan, a graduate student at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, wrote me a letter. As the first "space class" student who listened to the lectures of space that year, she chose a space-related major after the college entrance examination. She said in the letter: "You may not know who I am, but you have long become the light I yearn for on the road to my dreams." "Later, Wang Nan graduated from graduate school and became an astronaut ... The story of Wang Nan chasing the light and chasing the dream is just a microcosm, and there are many children like her who love aerospace and devote themselves to the aerospace industry.
I would also like to thank Ms. Barbara Morgan, the world's first "space teacher." As the keynote speaker of China's first and the world's second space lecture, I received a letter from her on the eve of the lecture. In the letter, she expressed her greetings and wishes to us, and gave her ardent expectations and encouragement for the space lecture.
The first space lecture was a complete success and was praised by the media: "The weighty space lecture not only shows the scientific and technological strength of the mainland, shows the wisdom and humor of the Chinese, but also sows the seeds of exploring the future." ”
Through their clear eyes, I saw the stars in the sky
Space is not only a place where all children are fascinated, but also the direction in which all astronauts have been running.
Time flies, and it has been 9 years since the first space lecture. In the past 9 years, I have always been keen on popular science and love the bits and pieces related to space science. Like my classmates, I continue to learn, precipitate, and accumulate, and look forward to meeting with my classmates again in the space classroom.
The space lesson has taught me so much, it has made me and the children a deep teacher-student relationship, so that I still have the opportunity to communicate with the children face to face after returning to the ground. From those innocent and lovely eyes, I felt the children's yearning for space and their desire for the unknown world; From those whimsical and whimsical ideas, I found that children have endless imaginations.
One educator once said, "The greatest advances in science are brought about by a new and bold imagination." "Isn't this kind of imagination of the children the hope of the future scientific and technological development of the motherland?"
I often wonder, what makes me so fascinated by the title "space teacher"? What makes me infinitely attached to space science? Slowly, I found the answer: it is a mysterious and beautiful space home, a scientific dream with unlimited tension, and it is also the eyes of children who are eager for knowledge. Through their clear eyes, I could clearly see the beautiful space and the innumerable stars.
After being selected for the Shenzhou 13 manned mission, I will continue to teach space knowledge to the children according to the mission arrangement. My mood was as unstable as it had been then:
——There is excitement, because I can meet children in space as a "space teacher" again.
There are regrets, because in this class, those students in the first space class have been "not children for many years", will they miss out with the new space class?
——Fortunately, because this space lesson can allow more children to understand space, understand space, and discover the charm of science.
——There are more expectations, and it is expected that this lesson can make more children love spaceflight, get close to spaceflight, let us know each other in aerospace science, and also meet each other in the space industry.
The second time I stepped onto the space podium, I felt more confident and calm. Across the screen, staring at the children's pair of knowledge-hungry eyes, I was full of strength. I always feel that in this teacher-student relationship, I am the one who enjoys and benefits the most - because of these children, I feel that I am still the one in the green years; Because of these children, I feel that no matter how hard and tired I am, there is a warm force supporting me; Because of these children, I even hope that every day in the future will be as happy as this moment.
Once again, I achieved a better version of myself
Teaching in space on the Chinese space station, compared to before, there are many "hardware" and "software" changes.
The space station's classroom is different from the Tiangong-1 classroom in many places: in the Tiangong-1 classroom, I can only hear the sound coming from the ground classroom; In the classroom of the space station, I can not only hear the sounds coming from the ground, but also see clear pictures.
As a "space teacher," I'm also changing. Benefiting from the accumulation of time and knowledge, in the new space classroom, I feel that my heart is more full.
On the afternoon of December 9, 2021, in the space class, my partner Ye Guangfu and I used a small paper flower when we demonstrated the water film tension experiment. The little pink paper flower that bloomed in the water ball was folded on the ground by my daughter and I. That flower bloomed so brilliantly in the experiment, like my daughter's magnificent future in my vision. Just in September 2022, she will usher in a new stage in her life: becoming a primary school student. I want that beautiful little flower to tell my daughter that there will be many beautiful things waiting for her to find on the way to school in the future; I also want to tell all my teenage friends through that little flower that as long as you sow dreams, you will definitely harvest hope.
Science is romantic and magical. The beauty of science lingers, depending on whether you can enjoy it. The beauty of space is that it can show what cannot be seen on Earth, and it can reveal scientific mysteries that cannot be revealed on Earth. For example: water balloons that "turn water into ice", liquid bridges that stretch continuously, water and oil that are inseparable. These seemingly simple physicochemical phenomena are clear to everyone, but it takes a lot of brains to successfully demonstrate them.
For example, in the space ice and snow experiment, when the students were teaching, they saw a perfect picture: a small water ball was suspended in space, I used the hair root in my hand to lightly touch, and the water ball instantly froze and became a hot "ice ball". This is a common crystallization phenomenon in the field of chemistry: at room temperature, the supersaturated sodium acetate solution is very unstable, and a small dust may induce crystallization. However, it is very difficult to perfectly present the magical effect of "turning water into ice".
Perhaps you don't know that this popular and magical experiment almost "died" halfway through. During the drill, there were many situations: First, there was very little supersaturated sodium acetate solution brought on, and the load of each flight mission was almost severe to the gram level, and we did not have much opportunity to practice; Second, we demonstrated this experiment for the first time in space, and any unexpected situation may occur.
In order to complete the "Frozen" experiment, we coordinated with heaven and earth and made a number of plans. However, several rehearsal experiments failed. When everyone was almost about to give up, I insisted on completing this experiment with the persistence of "not dying until the Yellow River", and made a plan for every possible special situation.
On the afternoon of March 23, 2022, the space ice and snow experiment that appeared as the first appearance of the "Tiangong Classroom" caught us off guard by the crystallization situation in advance. We did not panic, calmly solved the problem and remedied it in time. Finally, we gave thousands of primary and secondary school students in front of the screen a successful space debut of "Frozen".
In addition to showing interesting physico-chemical phenomena, we also implanted the traditional national culture and olympic spirit. Tie-dye is one of the long-established textile dyeing processes in the mainland. The unique tie-dye display allows this precious intangible cultural heritage to go abroad and fly into space. We are proud that traditional culture and modern technology are perfectly integrated in our hands. The finished product we made is stunning, blue and white, light and pure, with a fresh and natural beauty. The combination of blue and white is also very similar to the color we see on Earth in space.
In the "Heaven and Earth Joint Olympic Event", I used chemical reactions to make the "Olympic Rings". The ingredients are not complicated: a transparent plate embedded with five rings, 3 different colorless solutions, 3 acid-base indicators, plus several other solutions. Under our operation, blue, black, red, yellow, green, the colors of the "Olympic Rings" are perfectly presented in turn. Under the weightless conditions of space, the "Five Olympic Rings" floated freely, allowing us to feel the strong atmosphere of the Winter Olympics on the Chinese space station. The Olympic spirit of "higher, faster and stronger" coincides with the spirit of unremitting struggle of our astronauts.
Space teaching not only vividly restores the physical and chemical knowledge in the textbook, but also integrates multiple elements such as culture, art, and sports. The success of space teaching implies that the power of scientific knowledge and the power of beauty have always been around us, and as long as we have a pair of inquiring eyes, as long as our hearts are full of desire for the future, we can find this power.
As the song "Running" sings: "Flying with the wind has dreams to make wings, dare to love and dare to be brave to break through... Even the smallest sail can sail far..."
In our long journey of life, as long as we diligently seek, everything we hope for is bound to be expected, and everything we ask for will be desired. The beauty of science may lie in this.
The dream continues, let us meet in the future
In June 2013, the first "Tiangong Classroom" was watched by 80,000 schools and more than 60 million students across the country; In December 2021, the Chinese space station taught for the first time, in less than a day, the number of hits on the relevant reports on the whole network has reached 2.11 billion times, and more and more people have paid attention to our space classroom; in March 2022, the second lecture of the Chinese space station, only Weibo related topics have been read more than 1 billion times, which is praised by netizens as "popular science space version, live ceiling".
After the space lesson, I received many letters from children -
"Teacher Wang, you gave me my dream, and I will slowly climb to the top of the tree like a caterpillar." Someday, I will climb up and, like you, become a butterfly and fly into space to achieve my dreams. ”
"Teacher Wang, I will definitely study hard, and I will become an astronaut in the future, to explore the wonderful space, and to be a person who is useful to mankind and the country."
"We know that flying is not easy to achieve, and astronauts must go through long-term arduous and unremitting training to grow wings..."
The space teaching is like a silent spring rain, which has stained the earth green and moisturized the eyes of countless children. The space teaching is like a warm spring breeze, gently blowing into the field. Countless blooming dandelions carry small white umbrellas, like the seeds of space dreams, flying lightly with the wind and flying to the sky of hope. Wherever they fall, the seeds will take root and sprout, and the following year will bloom beautiful dandelion flowers.
Space teaching activities have left an indelible impression on the hearts of many students, and they will surely accompany them throughout their lives in the future. In the process of preparing for the lesson, I was also baptized with scientific knowledge again and again. Space exploration is endless, and more and more amazing scientific knowledge needs to be discovered together.
Although the bell rings at the end of the space class and I have returned to Earth, the transfer of scientific knowledge never ends. The heart has Ling Yunzhi, and the hand can pick the stars. All the unknowns are worth exploring. All limitations can be overcome. I look forward to thousands of students in the future study, to set up a young Ling Yunzhi, to be a down-to-earth person.
The space class sowed the dreams of the students and pointed out the direction of my future struggle. In the cause of manned spaceflight and science education, I will do my best to integrate space science education with the space industry, and always be the "space teacher" in the hearts of children.
Of course, the great success and far-reaching impact of space teaching is inseparable from the efforts of each astronaut in the crew. I remember that after the first space lecture, Commander Nie Haisheng, photographer Zhang Xiaoguang and I were in tears, and our hands were tightly held together. We are excited, sighed, and excited to be able to successfully accomplish such a big task together. In this space station mission, commander Zhai Zhigang and astronaut Ye Guangfu and I have run into each other many times, and the cooperation is very tacit, and the two space lectures have been successfully completed and presented their own unique style.
The content of our space classroom is becoming more and more abundant, and it is inseparable from the strong support of the ground support team. From curriculum setting to script writing to practical exercises, scientific research support personnel have put a lot of effort into it. In order to complete a series of space science popularization activities, Huang Weifen, chief designer of the astronaut system, paid too much effort. The heavy workload and a lot of communication in the early stages made her throat hurt so much that she couldn't speak. Even so, she insisted on carefully considering every detail of the space teaching.
Manned spaceflight is a systematic project, and the same is true for space teaching, and collective wisdom must be activated and collective strength must be exerted. The duration of the lecture in space is limited, but the spiritual connotations it radiates and reflects are infinite. I hope that more big friends and children can cultivate the spirit of unity and cooperation in their future study and work, give full play to the strength of the team, and benefit everyone, so as to stand higher, see farther, and walk more steadily.
In the follow-up space station mission, we will carry out in-depth science education activities through the construction of science popularization education bases, the collection of primary and secondary schools to carry experiments, astronauts on-orbit teaching, and interactive exchanges between heaven and earth. I believe that through our joint efforts, more people will surely approach and love spaceflight.
With the improvement of the experimental platform of the Chinese space station, I believe that the future space classroom will be more exciting. We met for the next lesson, and we didn't see each other!
Part of the source: People's Liberation Army Daily
Source: CCTV