Preparing The Mind And Body For Space

張語迎

This year marks the 20th anniversary of China s first manned space mission， with Yang Liwei becoming the first Chinese astronaut to go to space. Since then， another 17 astronauts have reached for the stars. The selection of the fourth generation of astronauts began in 2022 and is now in full swing. Experts revealed how tough the training is before astronauts can soar to space.

The human body is not designed for space life. Astronauts are confronted with multiple challenges on a space mission. The changes in gravity can have an impact on their bodies. The sensation of isolation and confinement living in a small spacecraft for months can impair their mental health. Emergencies? during missions challenge their knowledge and ability to solve problems under huge pressure. So it s no won- der that astronauts have to meet extremely high standards and go through a tough training pro- gram.

To make sure that Chinese astronauts com- plete their missions and return to Earth safely， “Eight types， including over 200 subjects of training， were set， ”Huang Weifen， chief design- er of the astronaut system for China s manned space project， told CCTV News. Apart from physical fitness training， it also encompasses basic scientific theories， psychological health，and mock missions.

Among the training subjects， the most tiring one is underwater training. This training is designed for astronauts to adapt to the microgravity environment in space. According to Huang， astronauts stay underwater in suits weighing over 100 kilograms for six hours at a time. Water resistance and the heavy suit make every move exhausting.“Nie Haisheng（one of the astronauts）once reported a two- kilogram loss in weight after one underwater training exercise，”said Huang

Each astronaut receives training for at least three and a half years before having the chance to go to space.

今年是中國首次載人飛行任務成功 20 周年，2003 年，我國“神舟五號”載人飛船在 酒泉衛星發射中心 成功發射，把中國首位航 天員楊利偉送入太空。自那時起，已經有17 位航天員飛向太空。第四批航 天員的選拔 工作2022年啟動，現在正全力進行中。專家 揭示了，航天員在高飛進入太空之前的訓 練，有多么困難。

人體不是為太空生活而設計的。航天 員在太空任務中要面對多種多樣的挑戰。 重力的變化會對身體產生影響。在狹小密 閉的宇宙飛船空間生活數月，所帶來的孤獨 感和封閉感，會有損心理健康。執行任務過 程中出現的突發狀況，考驗著他們，在面對 巨大的壓力時是否有足夠的知識和能力。 所以毫無疑問地，經過困難的訓練并且達到 非常高標準的要求，才能成為一名合格的航 天員。

為了保證中國航天員能夠完成他們的 太空任務并且安全返回地球，“訓練有八大 類，包含200多個科 目”，中國載人航天工程 航天員系統總設計師黃偉芬在接受 CCTV 采訪時說，“每個科目又有很多訓練 單元，涉 及到醫學、生理、心理，還有科學理論和工程 技術，以及模擬太空訓練等。”

在所有的訓練課目當中，最辛苦的是水 下訓練。這項訓練的目的，是為了讓航天員 能夠適應太空環 境中的微重力。據黃偉芬 介紹，航天員呆在水下，穿著100多公斤重的 工作服，一次要在水下工作6 個小時。水的 阻力和衣服的重力讓每一個動作都變得極 其費力。“曾有報道披露，聶海勝（一位獲選 執行太空飛行任務的航天員）曾在經歷了水 下訓練之后瘦了兩公斤”，黃偉芬說。

每一位航天員在有機會執行太空飛行 任務之前，都要接受至少三年半的訓練。

選自《21世紀英文報》