中国的航天发展历程

China's space industry has made a great leap forward in the past decade. The country inaugurated its manned space program in the early 1990s, and devoted great efforts to developing spacecrafts and launching vehicles. Zhou Jianpingis a leading scientist engaged in China's manned space program.

"China's manned space program is divided into three stages. The first stage was the launch of a manned spacecraft. The second phase aims to conduct multi-astronaut space flights, carry out space walks, and set up a space laboratory complex in 2010. The final step is the establishment of a space station by 2020. Over the past few years, China has made significant achievements in its manned space program. The first step was achieved in 2003, and the second phase of the project is proceeding smoothly."

China launched its first unmanned experimental spacecraft Shenzhou 1 in 1999. The spaceship was safely recovered after a 21-hour voyage. Over the next three years, Three more unmanned spacecrafts were launched. These experiments allowed Chinese scientists to upgrade the technology for a manned space mission.

Then, in October 2003, China successfully sent its first astronaut, Yang Liwei, into space on the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft. And two years later, China took another step forward by sending two more astronauts on a five-day space flight mission on Shenzhou 6.

The Shenzhou 7 space mission conducted last year was designed to master the key technologies necessary to set up a space laboratory where spacecrafts can dock and perform extravehicular activities. The ability to conduct a space walk is considered a crucial step in China's manned space program.

While the manned space program was in process, China has also strengthened its research on the moon. In 2007, China sent its first lunar probe into the orbit, becoming the fifth country in the world with a lunar orbiter. The moon probe completed its 16-month mission this March.

Although China has been developing its space program independently, it's always ready to carry out cooperation with other countries for peaceful purposes. Leading Chinese space expert Zhou Jianping says: "China always pursues the principle of making peaceful use of the space. It maintains that the outer space is the common wealth of mankind, and all the space exploration activities should be done for peaceful purposes, to promote social progress and benefit the whole of mankind. The country is willing to carry out various forms of cooperation with other countries in space exploration and utilization for the goal of promoting world peace and development."

A: That was the final segment of the 60 Years of New China knowledge contest. We'll repeat the two questions one more time:

B: Question No.1: Who was the first Chinese astronaut to walk in space?
And question No.2: When did China launch its first satellite?

A: We have now finished broadcasting all the five parts of the quiz. Please remember to submit your answers to us by September 1st. Our email address is crieng@cri.com.cn.

B: Or send your entry to English Service, China Radio International, Beijing, China. The postcode is 100040.

A: And with that we end this edition of Listeners' Garden. I'm KF, thanks for being with us.

B: And I'm DS, bye for now.