JAKARTA - China's prototype Qingzhou robotic cargo vehicle has completed a series of tests in orbit. The tests include precision detection, new-generation space medicine, to biological cultivation outside the Earth.
Citing China Daily, Tuesday, June 30, the news was announced by the Qingzhou developer on Monday. The vehicle was developed by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites under the Chinese Academy of Sciences based in Shanghai.
Qingzhou means Light Ship. This vehicle is designed as a robotic cargo ship to support China's space activities.
In its statement, the academy said the Qingzhou test results would support the application of China's new space technology. The results are also aimed at helping the use of space technology in everyday life, the operation of the Tiangong Space Station, and the use of space resources.
One of the devices tested is a micron-precision laser deformation gauge. This tool was developed by the Harbin Institute of Technology. Deformation means a change in shape in the spacecraft structure. A micron is a very small size, equivalent to one-millionth of a meter.
The device successfully monitored the change in the shape of the Qingzhou structure in orbit to the micron level. With a number of core technologies, the device is able to read very weak signals in the midst of strong signal interference.
This technology is expected to provide important measurement support for the long-term safety of space stations and cargo vehicles. This system can also help precision manufacturing in orbit and allow controllers on Earth to monitor the health of the vehicle in real time.
Qingzhou also brought a chip-scale gyroscope developed by Shanghai Jiao Tong University. A gyroscope is a device for measuring angular direction and velocity. This device successfully performed angular velocity measurements inside Qingzhou.
The technology is expected to play a role in precision navigation for long-distance space exploration and biomimetic aircraft. Biomimetics means technology that mimics the shape or way of working of living things.
Another test comes from the electromyography or EMG sensor. This sensor was developed by Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology together with Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The sensor is the first to prove that very weak human muscle signals can be collected and sent continuously in real time. This is part of a new generation of space medicine research.
Researchers from a number of institutions under the Chinese Academy of Sciences also used Qingzhou to test the desert moss Syntrichia caninervis. This plant is known to be very resistant to extreme conditions.
In the experiment, researchers tested the ability of desert moss to revive and survive in space conditions, ranging from microgravity, radiation, to drought.
The results are expected to be useful for the development of low-energy ecology and the utilization of local resources on future extraterrestrial bases. These findings can also provide references for controlling desertification and ecosystem restoration on Earth by utilizing organisms that are resistant to extremes.
The Qingzhou prototype is a one-module cargo vehicle. The vehicle was launched on March 30 using a Kinetica-2 rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.
According to the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites, the first mass-produced Qingzhou is scheduled to launch in early 2027 and dock with the Tiangong Space Station.
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