Nov 30, 2012 China s Ambitious Space Program

Transcription

1 In News Focus #18, we head to the Gobi desert in Northern China to look at the achievements of the China National Space Administration (CNSA). Russia and the U.S.A. have already conquered space and placed the 16-nation International Space Station into orbit around the Earth, however China is now carrying out similar experiments. The Chinese government is spending a fortune on manned flights into space and views its ambitious space program as a symbol of its growing global power. CNSA sent its first female astronaut into space last year, and reportedly has plans to send a citizen to the Moon.If you re interested in finding out more, then click here. Nov 30, 2012 China s Ambitious Space Program China has ambitious plans for space. In the 13 years between 1992 and 2005 Beijing spent 20 billion Yuan (US$3.1 billion) on the space program. By the time its next manned mission is completed in 2013, China will have spent an additional 19 billion Yuan (US$3 billion). It is already one of just three nations to have launched manned spacecraft on their own without help from other countries. It plans to join the United States and Russia as the only countries to send independently maintained space stations into orbit. Last year, in 2011, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) launched the Tiangong 1 module and placed it in a permanent orbit around the Earth. By 2020, it hopes to replace the small module with a permanent space station that would weigh about 60 tons, slightly smaller than NASA s Skylab of the 1970s and about one-sixth of the size of the 16-nation International Space Station. Beyond 2020, possible future missions could include sending a citizen to the Moon. In June 2012, the CNSA launched its fourth manned mission, Shenzhou 9, from the Jiuquan center on the edge of the Gobi desert in northern China. The Shenzhou 9 crew included 33-year-old Liu Yang, an air force pilot and China's first female space traveler. Liu was joined by mission commander and veteran astronaut Jing Haipeng, 45, and crew mate Liu Wang, 43. During the 13-day mission, the capsule ofshenzhou 9 docked with the orbiting Tiangong 1 module, an important milestone for the country as it strives to match American and Russian achievements in space. The docking was carried out by remote control from a ground base in China and the entiremaneuver, which took place 343 km above planet Earth, was shown live on national television. Following the successful link up, the Chinese astronauts entered the module and lived and worked there for several daysas part of preparations for manning a permanent space station. Towards the end of their time in space, the astronauts returned to the Shenzhou 9 capsule and practiced a manual docking. This exercise involved disconnecting from the module and then re-engaging using hand levers to positiontheir capsulealongside the orbiting module. Wu Ping, a spokeswoman for China's manned space program, told reporters in Beijing that the maneuver was "precise and perfect" and that the three astronauts carried it out calmly and skillfully. Wu added that This success in manual docking represents a major breakthrough in our space rendezvous and docking technologies. The CNSA successfully completed two unmanned dockings in 2011 but this latest docking was an important leap forward for China s manned space program, according to Wu Bangguo, China s chief legislator.

2 The Shenzhou landing capsule parachuted back to Earth in late June 2012 landing some 100 km from Hohhot, the Inner Mongolian capital. We have returned, and we feel good, was the astronauts simple message to the command centre. Although the craft s exterior wascharred black upon re-entry, all three of its occupants were in perfect health and left the capsule waving and smiling. It feels so good to have my feet on the ground and to be home, said Mr. Liu. In support of its space program, the CNSA is also carrying out important experiments on the ground. During a recent lab experiment in Beijing, four kinds of vegetables were grown in a sealed 300m 3 cabin. The plants took in carbon dioxide and gave off oxygen within a sealed ecosystem. The sealed CELSS ecosystem (a controlled ecological life support system ) was able to provide two human inhabitants with the air, food, and water they needed to survive. Although other countries have carried out similar experiments, Deng Yibing, a researcher at the Chinese Astronaut and Training Center, explained that this was a significant achievement for China s long-term space goals as its astronauts could rely on space gardens for supplies of fresh vegetables and oxygen. The CELSS ecosystem would allow Chinese astronauts to set up bases on the Moon or Mars. [A] READING CHECK Are these sentences correct (C) or incorrect (I)? 1. China began to invest in its space program in In the last 7 years China has spent almost as much money on its space program as it did in the previous 13 years. 3. Only three countries have managed to send astronauts into space without help from other countries. 4. The CNSA plans to build a permanent space station within the next decade. 5.Six countries worked together to build the International Space Station. 6. Shenzhou 9 carried China s first female astronaut into space. 7. The crew of Shenzhou 9 failed to perform a manual docking with the orbiting module. 8.None of the astronauts was injured when their capsule returned to Earth. 9. The ecosystem experiment took place on the orbiting Tiangong 1 module. 10. Humans were able to survive by breathing in the oxygen from the plants in the CELSS experiment. [B] WORD FOCUS Fill in the blanks using the correct words below. China has (1) plans for space. In the 13 years between 1992 and 2005 Beijing spent 20 billion Yuan (US$3.1 billion) on the space program. By the time its next manned mission is completed in 2013, China will have spent an additional 19 billion Yuan (US$3 billion). It is already one of just three nations to have launched manned spacecraft on their ownwithout help from other

3 countries. It plans to join the United States and Russia as the only countries to send independently maintained space stations into orbit. Last year, in 2011, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) launched the Tiangong 1 module and placed it in a permanent orbit around the Earth. By 2020, it hopes to replace the small module with a permanent space station that would weigh about 60 tons, slightly smaller than NASA's Skylab of the 1970s and about one-sixth of the size of the 16-nation International Space Station. Beyond 2020, possible future missions could include sending a citizen to the Moon. In June 2012, the CNSA launched its fourth manned mission, Shenzhou 9, from the Jiuquan center on the edge of the Gobi desert in northern China. The Shenzhou 9 crew included 33-year-old Liu Yang, an air force pilot and China's first female space traveler. Liu was joined by mission (2) and veteran astronaut Jing Haipeng, 45, and crew mate Liu Wang, 43. During the 13-day mission, the capsule of Shenzhou 9 docked with the orbiting Tiangong 1 module, an important (3) for the country as it (4) to match American and Russian achievements in space. The docking was carried out by remote control from a ground base in China and the entire (5), which took place 343 km above planet Earth, was shown live on national television. Following the successful link up, the Chinese astronauts entered the module and lived and worked there for several days as part of preparations for manning a permanent space station. Towards the end of their time in space, the astronauts returned to the Shenzhou 9 capsule and practiced a (6) docking. This exercise involved disconnecting from the module and then re-engaging using hand levers to control the Shenzhou capsule and position it alongside the orbiting module. Wu Ping, a spokeswoman for China's manned space program, told reporters in Beijing that the maneuver was (7) and perfect and that the three astronauts carried it out calmly and skillfully. Wu added that: This success in manual docking represents a major breakthrough in our space rendezvous and docking technologies. The CNSA successfully completed two unmanned dockings in 2011 but this latest docking was an important leap forward for China s manned space program, according to Wu Bangguo, China s chief legislator. The Shenzhou landing capsule parachuted back to Earth in late June 2012 landing some 100 km from Hohhot, the Inner Mongolian capital. We have returned, and we feel good, was the astronauts simple message to the command centre. Although the craft s exterior was charred black upon re-entry, all three of its occupants were in perfect health and left the capsule waving and smiling. It feels so good to have my feet on the ground and to be home, said Mr. Liu. In support of its space program, the CNSA is also carrying out important experiments on the ground. During a recent lab experiment in Beijing, four kinds of vegetables were grown in a sealed 300m 3 cabin. The plants took in carbon dioxide and gave off oxygen within a sealed ecosystem. The sealed CELSS ecosystem (a controlled ecological life support system ) was able to provide two human inhabitants with the air, food, and water they needed to survive. Although other countries have carried out similar experiments, Deng Yibing, a researcher at the Chinese Astronaut and Training Center, explained that this was a (8) achievement for China s long-term space goals as its astronauts could rely on space gardens for supplies of fresh

4 vegetables and oxygen. The CELSS ecosystem would allow Chinese astronauts to set up bases on the Moon or Mars. 1 (a) unmotivated (b) ambitious (c) simple 2 (a) commander (b) soldier (c) police officer 3 (a) signpost (b) gravestone (c) milestone 4 (a) strive (b) strike (c) attempting 5 (a) maneuver (b) exercising (c) manipulation 6 (a) modest (b) mechanical (c) manual 7 (a) inaccurate (b) precise (c) vague 8 (a) sensible (b) significant (c) trivial [C] KEY PHRASES Complete these key phrases by matching words in column A and B. column A 1 CNSA launched its fourth manned mission 2 Following the successful link up, the Chinese astronauts entered 3 The astronauts used hand levers to control the capsule 4 The manual docking represented 5 Although the craft s exterior was charred black upon re-entry, 6 The plants took in carbon dioxide and 7 The sealed ecosystem provided two human inhabitants 8 The CELSS experiment is a significant achievement a b c d e f g h column B the module and lived and worked there for several days. and position it alongside the orbiting module. with the air, food, and water they needed to survive. from the edge of the Gobi desert. as it would allow China to set up bases on the Moon. an important leap forward for China s manned space program. all three occupants were uninjured and in perfect health. gave off oxygen within a sealed ecosystem. [D] SUMMARY Arrange the words in the correct order to complete a summary of the reading passage. 1. China began an [program / ambitious / 20/ space / some] years ago. 2. The CNSA aims [orbiting / to / an / establish / space] station by The space station will be [of / one-sixth / size / only / the] of the ISS that is currently orbiting Earth. 4. While [together / nations / 16 / on / worked] the ISS, China will build a space station on its own. 5. The CNSA [of/ unmanned / launched / a /couple] flights in The astronauts [their / able / dock / to / were] capsule on the module. 7. A spokesperson said that the [major / represented /manual / docking / a] breakthrough. 8. The small capsule carrying the three [by/ returned / astronauts / to / Earth] parachute.

5 9. The CELSS ecosystem provided enough [water / and/ two/ for / oxygen] humans to survive. 10. Astronauts could use CELSS ecosystems to [Mars/ set / bases / up / on] and the Moon. Answers [A] READING CHECK Are these sentences correct (C) or incorrect (I)? 1. China began to invest in its space program in (C) 2.In the last 7 years China has spent almost as much money on its space program as it did in the previous 13 years. (C) [US$ 3 billion vs. US$ 3.1] 3. Only three countries have managed to send astronauts into space without help from other countries. (C) [USA, Russia and now China. Many European countries have also succeeded but by working together.] 4. The CNSA plans to build a permanent space station within the next decade.(c) [They plan this by 2020.] 5.Six countries worked together to build the International Space Station. (I)[16 countries worked together to build the ISS: the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada, Brazil, and 11 countries of the European Space Agency] 6. Shenzhou 9 carried China s first female astronaut into space. (C) 7. The crew of Shenzhou 9 failed to perform a manual docking with the orbiting module. (I)[They were successful.] 8.None of the astronauts was injured when their capsule returned to Earth. (C) 9. The ecosystem experiment took place on the orbiting Tiangong 1 module. (I)[The CELSS took place on Earth in Beijing.] 10. Humans were able to survive by breathing in the oxygen from the plants in the CELSS experiment. (C) [The two humans in the experiment were able to live using the oxygen from the plants.] [B] WORD FOCUS Fill in the blanks using the correct words below. 1 (a) unmotivated (b) ambitious [= grand / (c) simple determined] 2 (a) commander [= (b) soldier (c) police officer military officer] 3 (a) signpost (b) gravestone (c) milestone [= landmark, highlight] 4 (a) strive [= attempt] (b) strike (c) attempting 5 (a) maneuver [= (b) exercising (c) manipulation exercise] 6 (a) modest (b) mechanical (c) manual 7 (a) inaccurate (b) precise [=accurate] (c) vague [opposite of precise] 8 (a) sensible (b) significant [=important, momentous] (c) trivial

6 [C] KEY PHRASES Complete these key phrases by matching words in column A and B. 1 CNSA launched its fourth manned d from the edge of the Gobi desert. mission 2 Following the successful link up, the Chinese astronauts entered a the module and lived and worked there for several days. 3 The astronauts used hand levers to control the capsule b and position it alongside the orbiting module. 4 The manual docking represented f an important leap forward for China s manned space program. 5 Although the craft s exterior was charred black upon re-entry, g all three occupants were uninjured and in perfect health. 6 The plants took in carbon dioxide and h gave off oxygen within a sealed ecosystem. 7 The sealed ecosystem provided two human inhabitants c with the air, food, and water they needed to survive. 8 The CELSS experiment is a significant achievement e as it would allow China to set up bases on the Moon. [D] SUMMARY Arrange the words in the correct order. 1. China began an [ambitious space program some 20] years ago. 2. The CNSA aims [to establish an orbiting space] station by The space station will be [only one-sixth of the size] of the ISS that is currently orbiting Earth. 4. While [16 nations worked together on] the ISS, China will build a space station on its own. 5. The CNSA [launched a couple of unmanned] flights in The astronauts [were able to dock their] capsule on the module. 7. A spokesperson said that the [manual docking represented a major] breakthrough. 8. The small capsule carrying the three [astronauts returned to Earth by] parachute. 9. The CELSS ecosystem provided enough [oxygen and water for two] humans to survive. 10. Astronauts could use CELSS ecosystems to [set up bases on Mars] and the Moon.

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