In aerospace engineer Wen Bo’s cell phone, there are four photos of herself in the same pose and against the same backdrop (背景), but taken at four different junctures marking milestones in China’s lunar probing program.
The first photo was taken in 2007, the year she started working at the China Academy of Space Technology (中国空间技术研究院) and also the year China launched Chang’e-1, its first lunar probe. The other three photos were respectively taken right after the launch of the country’s second lunar probe in 2010, the third one in 2013, and the fourth one in 2018. “More than 10 years have flown by in the blink of an eye,” she remarked while flipping through the photos.
China’s fourth lunar probe, Chang’e-4, made the first-ever soft-landing by a spacecraft on the far side of the moon on January 3, 2019. While watching the lander (着陆器) touch down on the moon, many space scientists who had participated in the mission could not hold back their tears.
Zhang He, Executive Director of the Chang’e-4 probe project, said, “I’m very proud. We have done things that have never been done, and have overcome many difficulties.”
Usually, it takes three to four years to develop a lunar probe. Take Chang’e-4, for example. Models were designed first and then parts developed, manufactured, assembled, and tested. The lander consists of more than 200 devices and the rover (巡视器) of nearly 100, which were tested and revised over and over again.
The most distinctive feature of a spacecraft is that once launched, it is virtually irreparable (不能修复的), unlike a car that can be recalled if found to be defective or a plane that can be periodically maintained. Any negligence can throw years of hard work down the drain; thus aerospace engineers attach great importance to quality.
Sometimes work had to be done in very rough conditions. Some tests were conducted in northeast China where winter is very cold, and some in the northwest in the desolate Gobi desert. However, the scientists on the project had no complaints. They were always passionate about their work and totally devoted to it.
There is no doubt that Zhang and her colleagues have missed some important moments in their family life. Cheng Ming, an aerospace engineer, missed his son’s birth because he was busy preparing for the launch of Chang’e-3. Nonetheless, his passion has never diminished. He proudly said to his son, “Your dad helped send a probe to the moon!”
It is this very sense of dedication and passion that has motivated Chinese aerospace engineers to make every effort to propel China’s space science.