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(wù)成功 20 周年，2003 年，我國“神舟五號(hào)”載人飛船在 酒泉衛(wèi)星發(fā)射中心 成功發(fā)射，把中國首位航 天員楊利偉送入太空。自那時(shí)起，已經(jīng)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(dòng)，現(xiàn)在正全力進(jìn)行中。專家 揭示了，航天員在高飛進(jìn)入太空之前的訓(xùn) 練，有多么困難。

人體不是為太空生活而設(shè)計(jì)的。航天 員在太空任務(wù)中要面對(duì)多種多樣的挑戰(zhàn)。 重力的變化會(huì)對(duì)身體產(chǎn)生影響。在狹小密 閉的宇宙飛船空間生活數(shù)月，所帶來的孤獨(dú) 感和封閉感，會(huì)有損心理健康。執(zhí)行任務(wù)過 程中出現(xiàn)的突發(fā)狀況，考驗(yàn)著他們，在面對(duì) 巨大的壓力時(shí)是否有足夠的知識(shí)和能力。 所以毫無疑問地，經(jīng)過困難的訓(xùn)練并且達(dá)到 非常高標(biāo)準(zhǔn)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(wù)并且安全返回地球，“訓(xùn)練有八大 類，包含200多個(gè)科 目”，中國載人航天工程 航天員系統(tǒng)總設(shè)計(jì)師黃偉芬在接受 CCTV 采訪時(shí)說，“每個(gè)科目又有很多訓(xùn)練 單元，涉 及到醫(yī)學(xué)、生理、心理，還有科學(xué)理論和工程 技術(shù)，以及模擬太空訓(xùn)練等。”

在所有的訓(xùn)練課目當(dāng)中，最辛苦的是水 下訓(xùn)練。這項(xiàng)訓(xùn)練的目的，是為了讓航天員 能夠適應(yīng)太空環(huán) 境中的微重力。據(jù)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(gè)小時(shí)。水的 阻力和衣服的重力讓每一個(gè)動(dòng)作都變得極 其費(fèi)力。“曾有報(bào)道披露，聶海勝（一位獲選 執(zhí)行太空飛行任務(wù)的航天員）曾在經(jīng)歷了水 下訓(xùn)練之后瘦了兩公斤”，黃偉芬說。

每一位航天員在有機(jī)會(huì)執(zhí)行太空飛行 任務(wù)之前，都要接受至少三年半的訓(xùn)練。

選自《21世紀(jì)英文報(bào)》