Chinese astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu gave a science lecture(讲座) from China's space station to students on Earth on December 9th, 2021. The class began at 3:40 p.m., with a total of 1, 420 students attending the lecture from five classrooms across China. The primary classroom is in China Science and Technology Museum. Classrooms have also been set up in Nanning, Wenchuan, Hong Kong and Macao. Tens of millions of students across China watched the hour-long televised event.
Shenzhou-13 members gave the students a tour of the living and working areas of the space station. They showed the students how to increase their strength with their exercise equipment(设备), introduced a specially designed spacesuit and performed experiments. Ye, who is on his first spaceflight, showed how he moved in the weightless environment. They also answered questions from students during the lecture.
It was the first lecture of the Tiangong Class. More lectures will be held and presented by Chinese astronauts. Such activities are held to encourage a love for science among young people.
Shi Yi, a physics teacher in Beijing, said the space lecture was an eye-opening experience that would improve students' interest in science.
Wang Yihan, a fifth-grade student, said, "The experiments really surprised me. I have great interest in spaceflight and would like to take part in our country's space program in the future."
Vincent Wong, headmaster of Hong Kongs Pui Kiu College, said the event gave Hong Kong students an chance to communicate with the astronauts. "It also helped to strengthen (加强) their national identity(认同) as they saw the rapid development of our country's space technology, " he said.
