2016年CRI Inner Mongolia ready for return of Shenzhou 11

 

It's been a beautiful Thursday in this vast grassland¹ area in the Siziwang Banner, which surrounds the city of Ulanqab in Inner Mongolia. 

Hours before China's two astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong are scheduled to return, reporters had a chance to catch up with members of the ground team under beautiful, sunny conditions.

Temperatures today have hit 12-degrees.

Wang Hongjun with the local weather observatory² says weather conditions are expected to remain ideal for Shenzhou-11's re-entry.

"At this point, the weather conditions look more optimistic for us than they did yesterday. But it all depends on whether the conditions are also right on paper before the astronauts can conduct a re-entry."

During their last month aboard the Tiangong-2, Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong have carried out a range of scientific experiments, testing out technology required for a large, permanently³ crewed space station, which is expected to be set up sometime in the next 4-years. 

Staff on the ground here in Inner Mongolia are now in their final preparations for the two astronauts' return.

This is a location where all of China's previous manned space missions have come to a successful conclusion.

But different from previous re-entries and landings, Li Junzhi, vice⁴ commander of the Command Center at the main landing field, says his team is preparing for some new tasks this time.

"First of all, this is the first time our astronauts have spent over a month in space. We've also adopted some higher standard for our vessel⁵ research and recovery. They've spent longer time in zero-gravity condition, thus the possibility for them to experience abnormal physical conditions will be larger. Secondly⁶, this is the first time we are on a landing mission in the winter time. Temperature in the landing area is relatively⁷ low and we need to protect the astronauts from exposure to that."

Locating and recovering the spacecraft isn't a simple task, as delays of just seconds in orbit can potentially put a re-entering spacecraft off its intended landing area by dozens of kilometers.

Li Lei is in-charge of the squad⁸ which will eventually locate Shenzhou-11 once it touches back down. 

"We've had a few helicopters refitted for just such an occasion. We now have 8 helicopters carrying search and communication equipment with us. We've also carried out aerial reconnaissance of the landing field and now have a clear idea of the landscape in this area. There are some areas in this vicinity where we've had to practice for unanticipated landing issues."

Unlike NASA's now mothballed space shuttles, China's re-entry modules⁹ can't adjust their heading once they enter the atmosphere.

This makes the timing¹⁰ of the re-entry critical, and more challenging, as crews also have to factor in wind conditions in the upper atmosphere where the parachutes will deploy¹¹ to eventually bring the crew back down safely.

1 grassland   

n.牧场，草地，草原

参考例句：

• There is a reach of grassland in the distance.远处是连绵一片的草原。
• The snowstorm swept the vast expanse of grassland.暴风雪袭击了辽阔的草原。

2 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

3 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

6 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

7 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

8 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

9 modules   

n.模块( module的名词复数 )；单元；（宇宙飞船上各个独立的）舱；组件

参考例句：

• The course consists of ten core modules and five optional modules. 这门课程包括十个必修单元和五个选修单元。
• Our English course is divided into modules on poetry, drama, and novels. 我们的英语课分为诗歌、戏剧和小说等单元。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

11 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。