Discussion keeps the world turning.
This is Roundtable. Hello, welcome to Roundtable, where we serve up piping hot debates on the issues that sizzling China and beyond.
I'm your only coming up in today's world, the space is not merely a distant frontier, but a part of our everyday life.
April 24th marks the space day of China.
Roundtable invites you to stop, take a breath, and look up all the way to the space.
From satellites to space stations, we'll explore how the advancements in aerospace technology are transforming our world, one orbit at a time.
For today's show, I'm joined by Li Yi in the studio and Josh Cotterall on the line.
Now grab your virtual compass and follow us to the heart of the discussion.
The cosmos is not just a realm of scientific study, but a source of technologies that permeate our everyday lives.
From the food on our tables to the way we communicate across continents, space technology is there, silently orchestrating much of our modern conveniences.
And I was wondering, because we all must have the experience of fantasizing about the space, about aliens, about things happening outside of Earth.
And if there's one thing you'd like to share about aerospace, be it your childhood space dream, your favorite sci-fi story, or any fun facts that you find fascinating and you would love to share about rocket science or about just space, what would it be?
Josh, how about you start?
Sure, well, I've long had a deep fascination with space since I was a little kid.
And I think maybe one of the reasons is because the hometown where I grew up is sort of out in the ocean almost in the northeast of England and the sky is very clear there.
So you can always see the stars.
And I always had a fascination with the stars and with planets, especially with the planet Neptune, actually.
That's another reason why actually the name of my stage name when I perform as a musician is actually actually Neptune because of this.
I'm so fascinated with this planet and one of the reasons was because it was so scary to me.
It was just so blue, right?
But actually people will know that the Neptune is not covered in an ocean, right?
It's the eighth and the other planet from the sun.
But still, anyway, whatever.
I was interested in it and I wanted to be an astronaut.
I actually was interviewed on a TV channel once.
They came to our school to it was a program where they interviewed kids and that's what they wanted to be when they were older.
And I was like four years old and I said that I wanted to go to space.
I wanted to be an astronaut.
So I really, really had dreams to do this.
And for a long time, I thought maybe science was going to be the subject that I'd go and study.
And maybe I would try and pursue something to do with astronomy or something like that.
But it wasn't to be. But anyway, yeah, long had a fascination with it.
Well, that's a cute story.
I think it's the kind of dream for a lot of young boys and girls.
They think about the outer space.
I want to be a scientist of rocket science.
It sounds really cool. So yes, we have the fascination definitely.
Yeah, actually, it's a little bit strange because I don't really have a dream of being or becoming an astronaut.
But I did imagine of having a dad who is an astronaut.
I think that's not so much a dream.
It's a cool dad. Yeah, that's a cool dad.
That every little kid would dream of when you were young.
And yeah, I think for any kid, aerospace, the universe is just a cool thing.
And I think my early interest for space and universe really came from a series of books.
I'm not really sure if you have read it.
It's called Zhong Guo Shao, an Ertung Baikuo, a Chinese teacher, a cyclopedia for children.
I think that's a very, very standard item on the bookshelves for like young kids or teenagers in 1990s or 2000s.
I still remember there were like four books with different colors.
The green one is... Oh, yeah, I think I've read it.
Yes, you see. That's my favorite in a book set actually.
Because the green one is about nature.
And the red one is about ours and culture.
And then there are also like something about technology and sociology.
So my favorite one was the green one about nature.
Because the first few pages would just tell you about what is universe.
And also the history of the cosmos.
And also what are the components parts of the universe, like solar systems and stars and galaxies.
And I think I still remember when I was reading those words.
I think that was the first time that I feel the sense of insignificance or smallness, especially as a child.
That's a very unique experience.
Because when you look at those like billions of galaxies, each containing billions of stars and also the infinite distance between all of them, you feel like the universe is so fast and so mysterious.
So somehow your own personal daily life and also your concerns is so tiny and small.
I think that's a very attractive factor that many people are so into exploring universe and everything.
We can only speak for ourselves for sure.
But I think our feeling towards the space, towards the aerospace technology actually are quite standard for a little kids or for young people living in the society.
And as a society or even as human being itself, having this fascination about a huge outer place or outer space that we do not know much about, the infinite possibility of exploring of something might be happening out there, has been inspiring generations after generations of scientists, astronauts, of people around the world to advance the scientific research.
And actually we do have already got a lot of achievements.
And on this very special day, the space day of China, how about we take a look at the reason that we have this special day designated to celebrate or to observe or to just stop and reflect on our scientific research on space and the activities that are happening on this day.
Sure, actually China designated April 24th as the space day of China in 2016 to mark the launch of its first satellite, Don't Fall Hong-1, into space on April 24th, 1970.
And this year we are celebrating the ninth space day of China.
And interestingly I think this day is also becoming a platform for China to introduce its achievements and also some of its plans in aerospace.
And for this year there are some major celebrations for the space day and the main venue for the celebration event is in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei province.
And some people might just ask why Wuhan?
Because the city is really known for being a crucial hub for China's commercial space industry.
And especially in recent years Wuhan has become home to China's first modern rocket industrial base, which actually has the capability of manufacturing assembly and testing 20 rockets annually.
So that's why we are having this major celebrations in city.
And especially on this day the main events in Wuhan display the impressive achievements in China about aerospace, which also might offer clues about exciting future plans in China's ambitious quest to explore the universe.
And also this year we have the first ever China-letting American and the Caribbean state space cooperation forum.
And also the Wuhan declaration would also be released.
And this forum is really aimed at fostering more cooperation between China and also countries in Latin American, of course in the aerospace sector.
And some 100 delegates from 26 countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region.
And also eight international organizations attend a forum.
So in total I think this year a series of nearly 500 space themed activities are held.
By either official departments, colleges and relevant associations on the space day.
And I've learned that you know experts and aerospace scholars and even astronauts would visit schools to give science lectures to small kids and teenagers to really foster the sense and awareness and also promise in China's aerospace business.
And also there will be certain films and TV programs related to aerospace themes.
And also science TV programs and series are broadcast.
So this is a huge celebration.
A huge celebration and a good opportunity for space technology fans.
I can definitely imagine attending many of these activities and learning about space.
And is there similar activities or events or special days designated to celebrate space in UK or in Europe?
Yeah, there are actually in certain countries there are even space weeks.
I think that there is, it's not actually specific to my own country, but there is a space week which is an international event celebrated in October.
And this similarly aims to promote space science, etc.
In my own country, there's something that's a bit more connected to academia.
And this is called British Science Week.
And this is held in March and it's a celebration of science, including space study of sort of space sciences as well.
And there's a lot of focus on that actually because science to do with space exploration and things like this are usually quite exciting, especially for younger students.
So you can sort of use the topic of space as a catalyst to talk about physics, for example, in general and stuff like this and using space as an example to talk about particles, light and things like this can often be a much more interesting way to teach it.
And I mean, just fascinating.
I know that that was one of the reasons why I for some time loved science at school, I must say.
In Europe, there is European Space Week.
This is organized by the European Space Agency.
This also is sort of like a place where private companies can also meet and I guess network to some degree because it's also quite a big business space exploration, things like satellite technology and stuff like that can also be utilized to help, you know, us on earth, not in space and things like this.
And yeah, there's a lot of space related exhibitions and events actually throughout the whole world and the UK holds a lot of these things, events that provide opportunities for people to learn and also as I just mentioned for private companies also to network and advertise their products.
Definitely. Many people say that to the year 2000 and 23 is the year of artificial intelligence because that's an exciting time for artificial intelligence and a lot of industries are developing in that area.
And naturally what's a little bit overlooked is the fact that space technology aerospace industry has also experienced a huge achievements in the past year.
A lot of exciting things happened and a lot of new breakthroughs, the kind of breakthrough that are the foundation of future major achievements such as making it possible for common people to travel in space, making it possible for rockets and for satellites to go to further away places.
Actually, the foundation were laid in the year 2000 and 23.
And as of China, China broke records last year by successfully launching over 200 spacecraft achieving a historic milestone.
Yeah, actually in 2023 China carried out 76 successful orbital launches.
That's also a new historical record.
And some highlighted treatments would be the Shinjo 16 and Shinjo 17 manned space flight emissions.
They were great successes, definitely.
And also the remote sensing 40 satellite was successfully launched, which will also offer a more comprehensive and a more precise scientific basis for China's geological exploration, meteorological research and also research in environmental protection and also in other fields.
And the application for lunar research samples from the China five mission has also been open to the world, which is also sharing important data and scientific research achievements to the international community.
And also the international version of the national remote sensing data and application service platforms has also been released, which is also expected to help the construction of the belt and road initiative.
And also 2023 is definitely a fruitful year for China space sector, but China is also expected to be be easier in the coming year or in 2024, because China six the first China's phase for lunar probe emissions expected to be launched.
And this mission would be a more simple retrieval mission targeting the far side of the Earth natural satellite.
And also China manned space will see the launchers of Shenzhou 18 and 19 crew the space day of China activities in Wuhan.
And my feeling is that the development of new technologies normally follows two patterns.
One is the natural growth kind, whereas new materials and process mature certain technological metrics are also advanced.
The other patterns starts with a targeted aim and works top down to identify the key challenges that must be addressed to achieve that goal, tackling them one by one.
Generally, the second type of technological progress often has a domino effect in a good way, where a breakthrough in one technology leads to advancements in a series of related technologies.
And my feeling is that this type is much more challenging because it typically requires really interdisciplinary and cross sector collaboration as well as significant financial investments.
And exploring space is one of that type of scientific research that you get to do.
It has clear technological goals, substantial financial support and a concentration of talent.
So by doing that for so many years to now, definitely we do have something in life that were for example initially the kind of product that is designed for the use in space or in a space station.
So do you guys have any fun examples that you'd like to share with our listeners out there?
The kind of examples showcasing how the advancement of technology in the area of space where aerospace has been benefiting our everyday life as well.
Sure. Well, there's so much actually.
And I think that it's easy to forget how much of an impact space exploration in the study of space has already had on our lives.
And there's many things that are new.
You mentioned AI earlier and I think that this is something that's going to play a big role.
But there's already a lot of things that we take for granted.
Let's say for example, weather forecasting, right?
This is one of the most obvious ones.
But actually the accuracy of weather forecasting is something that's really come on leaps and bounds in the last few decades.
And this is due to satellites, right?
Basically, you can also now use AI algorithms to analyze this data from the satellites in order to have better forecasting, more accurate forecasting.
And this can go from everything from knowing when the weather's going to be nice to really serious stuff like predicting when there's going to be natural disasters like hurricanes and floods, etc.
And this is only going to get better and better as AI develops and also as satellites develops.
So this is really quite amazing.
And I think testament to how powerful this technology is.
Another couple of examples, I'm sure you guys have got other ones as well.
But yeah, aside from there are a lot of things to do with nature, right?
Obviously. So things like weather, also management of resources as well.
And sort of AI algorithms and satellites are able to monitor changes in things like deforestation, water quality and things like this.
And this helps ecosystems to be more sustainable.
Also another thing which I think that I know I take for granted, living in such a technologically advanced city as Beijing, but things like GPS and transportation and navigation.
This wasn't really a thing, you know, sort of 30 years ago.
And now it's so accurate.
And this is largely because of satellite navigation and things like this.
So it improves safety and efficiency and just allows cities to move more freely and be safer, I think.
So yeah, I know I've focused a little bit on satellites, but I think that this is something that we can't ignore and is easy to do so.
In talking about GPS, I think now probably the US developed GPS or global positioning, the system has really a huge market globally.
But I would also like to introduce China's domestically developed global satellite navigation system that is BADO.
I think, yeah, I think listeners of our show might be familiar with it.
And it is actually a very important aerospace achievement for China.
And last year, the spado satellite navigation system really got its regulatory internationally because its technical standards and recommended measures have been added to the UN's International Civil Aviation Organizations existing standard documents.
And according to insiders, this recognition really shows that the BADO system is capable of providing safe, accurate and reliable communication and navigation services for users out there.
This system has been applied widely just the early this year in March.
I mean, it's time to have this sewing spring wheat.
And so a farmland that is about 33 hectares in Ujong City, Ning Xiaohui, autonomous region here in China, it really used a large cedar equipped with the BADO satellite navigation system to spread seeds and fertilizer into the soil.
And according to the owner of that farmland, this system could really help increase the rate of land utilization by about 3%.
And also with more precise seedling, it can also save water and help those crops to grow in a better way.
So I think that's the amazing part that we or me personally haven't really realized that aerospace or space technology has been used to benefit our daily life.
So much already, yes, definitely.
And it's actually making a lot of sense because we are when we want to analyze something, we often say that, ah, you need to step back further so you can see the things clearer.
And this is what's happening with our earth.
That is, you step back further into the space and you analyze the earth with the angle on the satellites and you understand it better.
This not only used for the purposes or the reasons that you guys have already mentioned on the show actually, for example, earth resource satellites have been highly economically beneficial enabling significant discoveries like the largest and Nicole deposit in South Africa, large chromite mines in the Egyptian desert, copper mines in Pakistan and the word largest lithium deposit in Bolivia.
These are all discovered through satellites and of course using satellites, we can map city into a digital modeling use and we can understand the transportation situation, the weather condition, everything on earth in a different way.
And all that have been definitely very beneficial.
And that is the reason a lot of private companies and private sectors both in China and around the world are entering the aerospace area actually previously on roundtable with how the discussion of commercial aerospace if you are interested, it can go listen to the previous shows.
And on top of that, actually by advancing technologies for the purpose of better putting or sending people up to the space, many other technologies have been developed and those technologies are now in our everyday life.
And I have to give this example.
I know it sounds a little bit lame compared to the previous really fun, fancy, high-tech ones you guys given.
But this is crucial to my life right now because do you know disposable diapers were influenced by technology initially designed for astronauts.
Wow. Something new to me.
Yes. And I'm glad this is an audio show because other than that we're going to have to give pictures to the info I'm about to share.
What is during the space missions actually especially in the early years of space exploration, astronauts bodily waste needs to be managed since they would be in space suits for extended periods.
This challenge led to the creation of super absorbent materials and the technology developed for space missions utilized super absorbent polymers which can soak up many times their weight in liquid.
And while the concept of diapers actually predates space exploration, the specific advancements in the material science around absorbency were initially accelerated by the needs of space travel.
So many, many thanks to space technology and to astronauts.
Now my kid is able to use disposable diapers and I do not need to listen to what you had in your kid.
I mean, there are more examples than the simple as diapers.
Of course, there are, for example, water purification system, LED lights and even infrared year thrometers.
These are all inventions that were initially for the purpose of space technology for space station for aerospace purposes.
But now they're benefiting our everyday life.
And I think after today's discussion, it is safe to say that the stars are not just a spot of light in the night sky.
They are beacons guiding us to greater innovations.
Each satellite above us represents a threat connecting the future to our daily lives.
