The launch of an uncrewed spacecraft called Vessel of the Gods brings China one step closer to its goal of building a space station within the decade.
Shenzhou-8 blasted off from Inner Mongolia today. The craft is due to spend two days in orbit before automatically docking with Tiangong-1 (Heavenly Palace), a prototype science lab that blasted into orbit in September.
Shenzhou-8 carries a suite of 17 biological experiments called the Science in Microgravity Box that will expose their contents to the radiation and microgravity of space. One SIMBOX experiment consists of a miniature ecosystem with algae and fish that will be studied with the aim of creating a biological life-support system to provide oxygen and food for future space flights.
Another experiment will investigate the crystallisation of proteins in space, with the hopes of developing new treatments for the drug-resistant bacterium MRSA and the parasite that causes malaria.
After spending 12 days docked with Tiangong-1, Shenzhou-8 will bring its experiments back to Earth for analysis.
If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.
Have your say
Only subscribers may leave comments on this article. Please log in.
Only personal subscribers may leave comments on this article
Subscribe now to comment.
All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.
If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.
presidential debate xbox live update bloomberg tv bloomberg tv david koch the state republican debate
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন