Tag Archives: moonbase

Sci-Tech

ICYMI China Orbiting Space Station Is Growing Vegetables

Leave a comment

Farming is in the Chinese DNA — now it has reached orbit.

During the Tiangong Class for Hong Kong & Macau students, astronauts live‑streamed their working space vegetable garden, growing fresh leafy greens inside China’s space station.

Many nations have tried planting plants in space, yet China’s full seed‑to‑seed crop experiments push orbital agriculture to a new level.
No matter on the ground or hundreds of kilometres out in space, the instinct to grow vegetables never switches off. @Bodenviews

Tiangong Space Station

Most North Americans are aware of the ISS International Space Station but perhaps due to lack of mainstream media coverage (not us though) – much less know about the Chinese Space Station or China’s successful landing on the Moon. The Tiangong is the Space Station that China launched in 2019, with a new Crew and Modules going up every 6 months..

It is now 25% bigger than the ISS, and the plans are to equip it with Fuel Tanks several hundred meters away, to facilitate China’s Moonbase construction by 2030 and in case you missed it, there is a new space race brewing- the return to the Moon for the establishment of a permanent Moonbase.

NASA Project Artemis Timeline towards a Moon base

These are the 1st successful attempts at serious “Gardening” in space, with ‘0’ gravity.

The Tiangong provides regular, daily reports to China, and the World’s Media, but as mentioned above, Western media rarely shows any of the advances that would harm the soon to be decommissioned ISS’s reputation but regularly report on any failings. This sort of “soft censorship” has a common occurrence by all space faring nations- such as the fate of the Soviet Soyuz 11 crew who died upon reentry or the failed launch of the Russian N1 Moon Rocket which exploded in all launches (earthquake tremor machines recorded the explosion and the West deduced what had happened).

Tiangong Facts

The Crew always includes one woman, and the current one- Lai Ka-ying hails from Hong Kong, and speaks both Cantonese and Mandarin.. She is a high school teacher, as have been several Taikonauts before her.

For the Silo, Bill Stewart/Jarrod Barker.

Sci-Tech

President Trump Launches US Space Force Academy

Leave a comment

President Trump, who founded the U.S. Space Force in 2019, has announced plans for a U.S. Space Academy to train future leaders of America’s pioneering space missions.

Trump signed an executive order establishing the Space Academy last month during an August 28 ceremony at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“Given the rapid growth of the U.S. Space Force and commercial space industry, and the expansion of our ambitions to the moon and far beyond … it’s clear we will need to educate and train an entire generation of skilled service members, engineers, and civil operators,” the president said.

Space Is Critical To US

The order describes space as critical “for U.S. national security, economic growth, scientific discovery and technological innovation.”

During the August 28 ceremony, Trump also awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the crew of the Artemis II mission — NASA’s Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman, and the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen. Their April flight around the moon set a record for the farthest humans have traveled from Earth.

President Trump holding executive order (NASA/John Kraus)
President Trump presents an executive order establishing the U.S. Space Academy August 28 at Johnson Space Center in Houston. (NASA/John Kraus)

The only nation to land a man on the moon, the United States remains at the forefront of human space exploration. Through the Artemis program, established in Trump’s first term, NASA will return astronauts to the moon and pave the way for a moon base that will serve as a jumping-off point for future human spaceflight to Mars.

The president has prioritized America’s leading role in space exploration. He launched the Artemis Accords, a nonbinding set of principles to guide civil space exploration. Over 70 nations have signed onto the accords.

In August, Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum to reinvigorate U.S. leadership in space transportation , calling on federal agencies to promote space transportation capabilities and facilitate commercial transportation to the moon and Mars.

U.S. Space Force brigadier general swearing 5 officers into Space Force (U.S. Air Force/Technical Sergeant Michael Campbell)
U.S. Space Force Brigadier General Matthew Holston swears new officers into the U.S. Space Force at the Pentagon. (U.S. Air Force/Technical Sergeant Michael Campbell)

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman will lead a commission that will advise the president on creating the Space Academy, including degree programs, experiential training and service obligations for graduates. The academy will combine “rigorous technical education with leadership development, discipline, and a durable commitment to public service,” the order says.

A Transitional Step

Isaacman called plans for the Space Academy “a transformational step” for future NASA missions to return astronauts to the lunar surface, build a moon base and advance science and discovery. “I have no doubt that so much of the future talent that will graduate and contribute to these exciting endeavors will be educated at the United States Space Academy,” he said.

Where To Sign Up