Qingzhou tests spur space tech

A prototype of China's Qingzhou, or "Light Ship", robotic cargo spacecraft has completed a series of experimental and testing tasks, its developer announced on Monday.

According to the Shanghai-based Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the completed tasks covered space precision detection, next-generation space medicine and in-orbit biological cultivation.

In a news release, the academy said the results will provide technical support for the application of China's new space technologies, the transfer of space technologies to everyday life, the safe and efficient operation and maintenance of the Tiangong space station, and the utilization of space resources.

A micron-level deformation laser measuring instrument developed by the Harbin Institute of Technology achieved micron-level monitoring of the Qingzhou spacecraft's structural deformation in orbit, according to the release.

By extracting faint signals from a strong noise background through multiple core technologies, the instrument can accurately detect deformation of the spacecraft's cabin.

The technology is expected to provide critical measurement support for the long-term safe operation of the space station and cargo spacecraft, as well as for in-orbit precision manufacturing. It is also expected to enable ground controllers to monitor the health of spacecraft in real time.

Another advanced instrument, a chip-scale gyroscope developed by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, successfully completed angular velocity measurements aboard the Qingzhou.

The technology is expected to play an important role in precision navigation for deep-space exploration and bio-inspired aircraft, while enhancing the performance and intelligence of bio-inspired equipment.

An electromyography sensor, jointly developed by Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology and the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has, for the first time, verified the feasibility of continuously collecting and transmitting faint human muscle signals in real time.

Researchers from multiple organizations under the Chinese Academy of Sciences also used the Qingzhou to conduct a space resuscitation experiment on Syntrichia caninervis, or desert moss, an extremely stress-tolerant plant species.

The experiment verified the feasibility of the plant's resuscitation and survival under extreme space conditions, including microgravity, radiation and drought.

The findings are expected to support low-energy ecological improvement and in-situ resource utilization at future extraterrestrial bases, offer new approaches to building extraterrestrial bioregenerative life support systems, and provide references for the use of stress-resistant biological resources in desertification control and ecological restoration on Earth.

The Qingzhou prototype, a single-section cargo spacecraft, was launched on March 30 aboard a Kinetica 2 rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China.

The first mass-produced Qingzhou spacecraft is scheduled to launch in early 2027 and dock with the Tiangong space station, according to the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites.

zhaolei@chinadaily.com.cn