学进去

The second live class from China’s space station was held on the afternoon of Mar. 23, delivered by Shenzhou-13 crew (机组) members Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu to students on Earth. Wang performed several scientific experiments. In one experiment, Wang used a toy of Bing Dwen Dwen, the popular mascot of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, to show how objects fly in a weightless (失重的) environment. They also showed students two pieces of cutting-edge scientific equipment inside the space station. Hundreds of students in Beijing, Lhasa and Urumqi watched the event.

Before ending the class, the astronauts answered questions taken from members of the public and raised by students. The questions covered different facets of life and work in space, such as how to take care of their skin, whether hot water is available, if the moon looks different from the Tiangong station, and how tears move in a microgravitational (微重力) environment.

Pang Zhihao, a retired spaceflight researcher from the China Academy of Space Technology and writer of several space-themed books, said the class will be an “eye-opener” for youngsters, especially students, by implanting (植入) the love of science and creativity in them. “Many well-known scientists were created by their interest and curiosity about ‘strange things’. The experiments done by the astronauts will put ‘question marks’ in our students’ mind, and the youngsters will then move to find answers and explore (探索) more places unknown to humankind,” he said.