The statements in this article are based on reliable sources and are repeated at the end of this article
"Brother Liu's speech is too biased, who said that women don't enjoy leisure. This is a classic excerpt from the Henan opera Mulan. From ancient times to the present, in the minds of the older generation, men are basically working hard to earn money to support their families, while women are at home with husbands and children, enjoying a quiet life.
But in the 21st century, these ideas are gradually falling out of favor and replaced by the idea that men and women are equal and women can be self-reliant.
In China's aerospace community, there is such a woman, she is the first female astronaut on the mainland to walk in the sky for the first time, and she also spent a long 183 days in space far from the earth.
When she returned, everyone was looking forward to seeing the heroine's true face, but when the return capsule opened, she was so weak that she couldn't even lift her hands, but when asked how she felt about the spacewalk, he said that he was honored and happy.
So what has Wang Yaping experienced in space, thousands of miles away from the earth? and what kind of life is this heroine living now?
01
The first female astronaut in mainland China
Wang Yaping is a traditional post-80s generation, her parents don't have any good jobs, they are honest farmers in Shandong, and their families make a living by planting cherries, so the little Wang Yaping has to do farm work when he is not big, and his little face is often tanned.
But she never shouted that she was tired, and she was the most active in her work, the fastest one to complete, and in her studies, she was also very worry-free for parents and teachers, but to say that Wang Yaping was best at her physical fitness, in elementary school, he participated in long-distance running competitions, and he ran faster than most boys.
When she was in junior high school, her family's financial situation forced her parents to consider letting Wang Yaping choose to apply for secondary school, hoping that she could step into the society as soon as possible and use the money she earned to reduce the financial pressure on her family. But Wang Yaping has her own thoughts, she thinks that only by being admitted to college can she get ahead, so she applied for an ordinary high school without telling her parents.
When she was in high school, Wang Yaping was the only one in the class who did not wear glasses, and her physical fitness and figure were very good, she heard that the country was recruiting pilots, so she signed up with great interest, passed various assessments, and became a formal pilot, when she was only 17 years old.
After hard training, at the age of eighteen, she was able to fly a fighter plane into the blue sky on her own. Everyone was enjoying life in college, but Wang Yaping sat in the plane and enjoyed the pleasure of the plane soaring into the sky, since the age of 18, Wang Yaping has soared in the sky for more than 800 hours.
After graduating from university, because of his rich driving experience, Wang Yaping was assigned to the Wuhan Air Force Transport Air Force unit, becoming the youngest pilot in the unit at that time.
In 2008, Wang Yaping flew a plane to Wenchuan to fight the earthquake, and in August of the same year, she was sent to participate in the mission to reduce cumulonimbus clouds for the smooth running of the Olympic Games. Among the many tasks, Wang Yaping did not encounter accidents, but they were easily resolved by her.
In 2009, Wang Yaping participated in the selection of astronauts, Wang Yaping was like a bamboo, and officially joined the space team in 2010.
02
Devil Training
Because he knew the gap between himself and others, Wang Yaning began to train several times harder than others, the most special thing was the training about centrifuges, he was often "tortured" and dizzy, vomiting nonstop.
And in other training, it is also necessary to maintain a high degree of vigilance, and the slightest negligence will threaten life and health, among the eight training items that astronauts must go through, one of the most important items is overweight endurance training, they need to bear more than eight of their own weight.
This training is an indispensable part of the training that helps the astronauts withstand the necessary pressure and reduce the damage to the body during the ascent and return process.
During the training, the astronauts have to endure eight of their own squeezing and pulling in the chest, if they really can't bear it, they can press the stop button next to it to end the training, but this button is almost never pressed by the astronauts, and this kind of training is carried out every day.
In order to better adapt to the weightless environment in space, Wang Yaping needs to undergo long-term underwater training, she needs to wear aviation equipment weighing 120 kilograms, and complete various complex actions in the simulated weightless pool.
In the process, she had to endure not only the pain of breathlessness and physical exhaustion, but also psychological fear and insecurity. But many astronauts stay here for four or five hours and never give up until the end of the training. And after each day of training, the astronauts lose some weight.
There is also centrifuge training, centrifuge training is an important training program to simulate the overload force of astronauts in space, astronauts need to spin in the centrifuge at a very fast speed, experience several times the overload of the earth's gravity, this training is extremely painful, many people can hardly bear.
In 2012, Wang Yaping came to the Badain Jaran Desert to adapt to the wild environment, and in this training, Wang Yaping had to face harsh environments such as sandstorms, high temperatures, and water shortages.
She needs to learn how to survive in the desert, including building bunkers, finding water, and making distress contacts, and in training, she must not only overcome physical fatigue and discomfort, but also maintain a clear head and cool judgment.
These are just the tip of the iceberg in the astronaut training life, after each training, Wang Yaping is so tired that she can't even lift her hands, every difficulty she has experienced has made her more determined and mature, it is these experiences that make her more calm and confident in facing various situations in space.
03
First time in space
On June 11, 2013, Wang Yaping successfully took Shenzhou 10 to space, and after several years of training, he was finally able to touch the stars above the sky, and she was extremely excited at this moment.
On the eve of the ascension into space, Wang Yaping and her teammates made intense preparations, repeatedly checking the spacecraft's equipment to make sure nothing went wrong.
And they also conducted many simulation trainings, in order to adapt to the weightless environment in space and various unexpected situations. Wang Yaping knows that this is her first time on spaceflight, which is very important to her, and she must go all out to ensure the successful completion of the mission.
When the Shenzhou 10 manned spacecraft was successfully launched, the whole of China was boiling, and as a member of it, Wang Yaping was also very excited.
In space, together with other astronauts, she conducted a number of scientific experiments and technical tests, observing the rotation and revolution of the Earth, studying the effects of the microgravity environment in space on living organisms, and testing the performance and comfort of new spacesuits.
These experiments and tests have not only accumulated valuable experience for China's space industry, but also contributed to mankind's space exploration.
In the spacecraft, Wang Yaping also gave a space lecture, and she interacted and communicated with the students on the ground through video connection.
She showed the students interesting content such as weightlessness in space, space food, etc., and answered the questions raised by the students.
After spending more than ten unforgettable days in space, Wang Yaping and her teammates successfully returned to Earth on June 26, 2013 aboard the Shenzhou 10 manned spacecraft.
The moment the spacecraft landed at the intended location, the whole of China cheered and celebrated. Wang Yaping also completed her first space journey and became an important female astronaut in China's space history.
04
The one who picks the stars
In October 2021, Wang Yaping, who is already forty years old, received the call of the motherland again and flew to space smoothly on Shenzhou 13, eight years have passed since the first time he landed in space.
In this space trip, Wang Yaping and Zhai Zhigang and Ye Guangfu set out together, this is not a simple one-day trip to space, they have to live in space for half a year.
Judging from the video data from space, Wang Yaping looks like a girl in her 20s, and some people even question whether these video materials have been beautified.
In fact, it is not, how can there be such an operation in such a serious matter, according to Wang Yaping, it is because of the weightless environment of space, all objects are upward, including the human body. In the space environment, the muscles will unconsciously float upward, and the whole person will feel a little thinner.
In addition to these, daily eating, drinking, and lazing have become a problem, and in space, they must control themselves in their sleeping bags and force themselves to sleep.
In terms of drinking water, the water they drink is all human urine, feces and other excreted liquids, which have been treated layer by layer to meet the drinking standard, that is, reclaimed water.
It is not that the mainland is reluctant to let astronauts carry water resources into space, but that the wastewater generated in their daily lives is difficult to treat in space, so they can only use this method to "self-sufficient". ”
In addition to these, their daily life is to exercise in the space capsule, maintain a healthy body, such as space bikes, elastic bands, etc., to kill time and exercise at the same time.
During this period, they successfully completed the extravehicular operation task, so Wang Yaping had the title of the first female astronaut in the mainland to walk in the sky for the first time.
After half a year, the three astronauts successfully returned to the earth, but due to adapting to the weightless life in space, the heavy profits on the earth caused them to appear in varying degrees of the whole seat, what muscle atrophy, osteoporosis, etc., they were all carried out of the cabin on a stretcher.
Now in 2024, Wang Yaping is still active in the aerospace field and continues to contribute to China's aerospace industry, not only playing an important role in the launch of the Shenzhou-18 manned spacecraft, but also actively participating in the application and development of China's space station.
As China's first female astronaut to walk in space, Wang Yaping made an important contribution during the construction phase of the space station, and her experience and skills provided valuable support for subsequent space missions.
In addition to her contributions to scientific research and space missions, Wang Yaping has also actively participated in a number of aerospace science popularization activities, and she popularized aerospace knowledge to the public through television, Internet and other media platforms.
In addition, Wang Yaping also served as a part-time vice chairman of the All-China Women's Federation, actively promoting women's participation in the development of the aerospace industry. Through her experience and influence, she encourages more women to devote themselves to the aerospace field and contribute to the realization of China's aerospace dream.
It is hoped that there will be more and more female astronauts on the mainland in the future, and they will be targeted to contribute to the mainland's aerospace industry.
Resources:
[1] China Manned Space Engineering Network: [Wang Yaping: "My daughter asked me to go to space to pick stars for her" published on October 18, 2021.
[2] Guangming.com: A report on [Wang Yaping's account of the Shenzhou 13 crew out-of-cabin activities: embracing the vast space] released on July 5, 2022.