2018年CRI Lunar Palace 1 opens to public to mark China Space Day

 

This Tuesday is marking China's third Space Day.

To mark the occasion, "Lunar Palace 1," a bioregenerative life support system at Beihang University in Beijing, opened to the public during the weekend.

Our reporter XYee has more.

A main goal of "Lunar Palace 1" is to explore how a space mission could be totally self-sustaining over a long period of time.

"Lunar Palace" includes two separate cabins specially¹ for growing plants.

And a third includes 4 bedrooms, a bathroom, a sitting room, a waste-treatment room and a room for raising insects.

Du Yao, who is taking part in the project, says 8 volunteers need to live in the closed "Lunar Palace 1" with no input² for 365 days in three batches³.

"Currently, oxygen and water are 100% self-supplied in Lunar Palace 1. 80% of the food is self-supplied. Certian seasonings⁴ like salt, oil and sugar are imported from the outside."

Du Yao says the volunteers harvest grain, vegetables and fruit, while an inedible⁵ material has been used to raise mealworms as a source of protein.

Human waste, food residue⁶ and other byproducts are treated by bio-techniques and used to help with plant cultivation⁷.

Those visiting "Lunar Palace 1" this past weekend were in awe⁸ of what the volunteers have been able to accomplish.

"I can't imagine so many plants can be cultivated there."

"It's very difficult to for a closed ecosystem⁹ with people there to sustain. It's amazing that Lunar Palace 1 is so sophisticated and volunteers can live there for such a long time."

"The waste treatment process is pretty good. All the nutrition the plants need can be extracted from this process. "

"365 days being cut from the outside world, it's hard to imagine."

The 500-cubic meter module¹⁰ is China's first and the world's third bio-regenerative life support base.

Experts say it plays a significant role in the Chinese Space Program, as it is providing insight into a potential manned outpost on the moon, as well as future manned missions to mars.

Liu Hong is one of the leaders of the "Lunar Palace 1" project.

"Currently, the experiment stays on the earth. It's just a closed system, without considering the different gravity and radioactivity in space. In the following step, we will work on mini Bioregenerative life support system in space stations, the moon probe or maybe Mars probe."

The current experiment started in May of last year.

The first four volunteers lived inside for 60 days, the second four for 200 days.

The original 4 are now inside for 105 days.

They're due to be released from their self-imposed captivity¹¹ next month.

For CRI, this is XYee.

1 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

2 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

3 batches   

一批( batch的名词复数 )； 一炉； （食物、药物等的）一批生产的量； 成批作业

参考例句：

• The prisoners were led out in batches and shot. 这些囚犯被分批带出去枪毙了。
• The stainless drum may be used to make larger batches. 不锈钢转数设备可用来加工批量大的料。

4 seasonings   

n.调味品，佐料( seasoning的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It emphasizes the use of seasonings, so no two dishes ever taste alike. 它对调味品十分讲究。因此，没有两个菜会有同样的味道。 来自地道口语脱口SHOW 高中超越版
• The food made of flour and various seasonings is called moon cake. 中秋节的食品也是圆圆的，也象征着团圆，这种用面和各种作料做的食品叫月饼。 来自互联网

5 inedible   

adj.不能吃的，不宜食用的

参考例句：

• The food was totally inedible.食物完全无法下咽。
• These chemicals make the fruit inedible.这些化学品使这种水果不宜食用。

6 residue   

n.残余，剩余，残渣

参考例句：

• Mary scraped the residue of food from the plates before putting them under water.玛丽在把盘子放入水之前先刮去上面的食物残渣。
• Pesticide persistence beyond the critical period for control leads to residue problems.农药一旦超过控制的临界期，就会导致残留问题。

7 cultivation   

n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成

参考例句：

• The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
• The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃，不值得耕种。

8 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

9 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

10 module   

n.组件，模块，模件；(航天器的)舱

参考例句：

• The centre module displays traffic guidance information.中央模块显示交通引导信息。
• Two large tanks in the service module held liquid oxygen.服务舱的两个大气瓶中装有液态氧。

11 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。