1 . The most wonderful space museums

If your main interests lie in military aviation, this museum will have everything you’ve ever wanted to see. It features exhibits on World War II, the Korean War, the Southeast Asia War and the Cold War. They’ve also got a Missile Gallery as well as a Space Gallery where visitors can walk inside a full-size reproduction of a NASA shuttle (航天飞机). Most impressively, it is totally free to visitors.

Housing 60,000 air and space collections, the museum enables visitors to learn about the rich history of aviation (航空) by viewing the first successful aircraft (飞机) — the 1903 Wright Flyer — and everything that came next. From pilot uniforms to NASA spacesuits, engines and equipment, you’ll find it all at this museum.

Space fans know this museum to be the site of the original Space Camp, including the film by the same name, but there’s plenty more to see here. The Center has a number of exhibits both indoors and out and many play areas for younger kids. 3D movies and live science shows add to the appeal.

The privately funded museum has been in operation for over 40 years and has over 300 historic aircraft on display. You’ll also find several exhibits that range from seaplanes and aircraft carriers to paper airplanes and women in flight. One of the biggest draws, though, is its extensive “boneyard”, a collection of over 4,000 U.S. government and military aircraft that are either being recycled or regenerated.

Preparing the mind and body for space

This year marks the 20th anniversary of China’s first manned space mission, with YangLiwei     1     (become) the first Chinese astronaut to go to space. Since then, another 17astronauts     2     (reach) for the stars. The selection of the fourth generation of astronauts began in 2022 and is now in full swing. Expert s revealed     3     tough the training is before astronauts can soar(高飞) to space.

The human body is not designed for space life. Astronauts     4     (face) with multiple challenges on a space mission. The changes in gravity can have     5     impact on their bodies. The sensation of isolation and confinement(封闭) living in a small spacecraft for months can impair(损害) their mental health.     6     (emergency) during missions challenge their knowledge and ability to solve problems under huge pressure. So it’s no wonder that astronauts have to meet     7     (extreme) high standards and go through a tough training program.

To make sure that Chinese astronauts complete     8     (they) missions and return to earth safely, “Eight types, including over 200 subjects of training, were set,” Huang Weifen, chief designer of the astronaut system for China’s manned space project, told CCTV News. Apart    9     physical fitness training, it also encompasses(包含) basic scientific theories, psychological health, and mock(模拟) missions.

Each astronaut receives training for at least three and a half years before having the chance    10     (go) to space.

8 . For the first time, scientists have grown plants in the moon soil collected by NASA’s Apollo astronauts. The scientists had no idea if anything would grow in the moon dirt. They wanted to see if it could be used to grow food by the next generation of moon explorers. The results surprised them. Plants actually can grow in lunar (月球的) soil.

The researchers planted thale cress (芥蓝), a small flowering plant, in moon soil returned from the Apollo missions. The good news was that all of the seeds grew. The bad news was that after the first week the lunar soil stressed the plants so much that they grew slowly. Most of the moon plants ended up stunted—meaning small or not fully developed.

The longer the soil was exposed to radiation and solar wind on the moon, the worse the plants seemed to do. The soil collected by the Apollo 11 mission was the least helpful for growth. It was exposed a couple billion years longer to the elements.

Scientists said, “This is a big step forward to know that we can grow plants. The real next step is to go and do it on the surface of the moon.”

Moon dirt is full of glass particles from micrometeorite (微小陨石) impacts. One solution might be to use younger geologic spots on the moon, like lava flows, for digging up soil. The environment also could be changed by adding special nutrient (营养物) mixtures or artificial lighting.

Only 382 kilograms of moon rocks and soil were brought back by the six Apollo erews that landed on the moon. Most of them are still locked away, forcing researchers to experiment with soil made of volcanic ash on Earth.

Early last year NASA finally gave out 12 grams of soil to the University of Florida researchers for the planting experiment. NASA said the timing for such an experiment was finally right with the space agency looking to put astronauts back on the moon in a few years.

9 . “Fifty years ago, astronauts travelled to space in government-funded rockets designed, built and maintained by NASA. But today, the ‘astronauts’ are very often billionaires having a journey into low orbit on a rocket that they paid for themselves. This change feels like a giant leap, but it makes sense,” says Laura Seward Forczyk, founder of Astralytical, a space consulting company. She believes more and more of modern civilization relies on space.

Huge numbers of satellites orbit the planet, connecting us to everything from mobile phones to GPS, and there is a large sum of money in maintaining those systems. Forczyk thinks this doesn’t get a lot of headlines typically, but there are profitable reasons why private companies want to go into space.

The private commercial companies learn more about putting rockets and satellites into space to help NASA with the missions while NASA increases its management and guidance of them. That’s important because NASA itself has become financially limited. From its 1966 peak, when spending on the space race took up more than four percent of the US government’s budget, that spending is now less than half percent of the country’s total budget.

“NASA is using commercial companies to build a lot of hardware to perform those services of taking scientific payloads (载量) to the surface of the moon,” says Forczyk. “The hope is that people will follow — possibly by 2025, but more realistically by 2030. If you’re wondering why we’re going back to the moon — after all, mankind has already walked on its surface — the answer is that we explored only part of it.” “We know a lot more, but we also know so very little,” adds Forczyk. She wants to go back with people to learn more. But more importantly, she hopes and believes people can go to live and work there one day.

The universe is so big that we can’t stop exploring it. Some even see the moon as an eventual staging area for human exploration of deep space. Mars is regarded as the next stepping-off point towards the final frontier, though whether we’ll get there in our lifetime is another question.

10 . Should humans explore space? If you ask me, I’ll definitely give a positive answer.

The exploration of space has a direct impact on the lives of humans, as well as the state of our world. Satellites (卫星) moving around the earth enable communication across the world, connecting people of different continents and broadcasting information worldwide. The Global Positioning System (GPS) can identify our location anywhere. Furthermore, weather satellites can predict harmful weather conditions which allows humans to prepare for deadly natural disasters and save lives.

Space programs can also indirectly contribute to the solution to poverty and world hunger. For example, large pieces of land could be used far better if humans applied technologies. The most effective tool is the artificial (人造的) earth satellite. It can screen areas of land within a very short time, indicating useful measures such as the condition of crops, soil rainfall, and droughts. It can then send this information to ground stations on the earth for better use.

Furthermore, access to better education means better life prospects and opportunities for human beings. Rural (乡村的) communities have disadvantaged access to education and satellite communication technologies are trying to bridge this gap. With the development of technology, students can now access any information and connect with peers and teachers in different parts of the world through video conferences and the creation of virtual classrooms.

Space exploration is something we can do for future generations. Mankind is using the resources provided on the planet, but these will run out one day. Overpopulation can be a threat for all mankind. With the development of space technology, it will be wise to use and explore the vast potential of other planets, such as the availability of mining resources on asteroids (小行星) or other planets.

For the exploration of the universe, perhaps the most advantageous of all is that it will unite us to work together for a common purpose, regardless of our differences.