China science, technology news summary — Nov. 23

BEIJING, Nov. 23– The following is a summary of published science and technology news of China. The China Manned Space Agency said on Tuesday that the two-time space traveler, who is on board the orbiting China’s Tiangong space station, has become the first Chinese to stay in orbit for more than 200 days. Chinese space scientists and engineers published 10 science…

BEIJING, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) — The following is a summary of published science and technology news of China.

SPACE RECORD

Chen Dong has set a new record for the most cumulative days living and working in space by a Chinese taikonaut.

The China Manned Space Agency said on Tuesday that the two-time space traveler, who is on board the orbiting China’s Tiangong space station, has become the first Chinese to stay in orbit for more than 200 days.

ASTRONAUTICS CHALLENGES

Chinese space scientists and engineers published 10 science and technology challenges in the field of astronautics for 2022 at the ongoing China Space Conference held in Haikou, capital city of the southern island province of Hainan.

This list of challenges includes — power acquisition from cosmic dynamics, the search for habitable exoplanets and signs of life, key technologies for a shuttle-like space transport system, the monitoring of and defence against near-Earth asteroids, and development of artificial light synthetic materials for extraterrestrial subsistence.

CLEANING ROBOTS FOR MICROPLASTICS

A group of Chinese scientists has developed a kind of micro-robot powered by ion exchanges to remove microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) from water, according to Jinan University, one of its developers.

The robot is 20 to 100 microns in diameter, which is thinner than a human hair. It has an innovated means of obtaining energy, making use of exchanges with impurity ions in the water, and can work without additional energy input. Enditem