High-tech inside Tianhe space station makes life more comfortable for taikonauts

Thanks to a range of high-tech facilities adopted in the Tianhe space station's core cabin, the lives of the three taikonauts who have been living and working there for nearly a month have been made much easier.

Photo shows Nie Haisheng, one of the three taikonauts inside the Tianhe space station, carrying out operations. (Photo/Xinhua)

In the Tianhe core module of the space station, a "space gym" is equipped with a bicycle, while a "space treadmill" and other machines also help the taikonauts work out. Unlike those on the ground, the treadmill has a gravity simulation device to apply a certain amount of pressure so that taikonauts will be held in place by the equipment.

The simulated gravitational environment not only helps develop the taikonauts' skeletal muscles, but also enables them to effectively cope with the effects of weightlessness on the human body by stimulating bone reconstruction.

The bicycle can help stimulate taikonauts' heart rate threshold and increase their cardiovascular regulation ability. When pedalling, taikonauts must wear special breathing apparatus to strengthen their heart and lung functions, and a special device with upper limb exercise mode to increase the effectiveness of whole body exercise.

In addition, Tianhe space station's core cabin offers more than 120 kinds of "space food" that are tasty, have balanced portions of vegetable and meat dishes, balanced nutrition, and long shelf lives. Fruit, chocolate, biscuits and other dietary supplements have also been prepared to give the taikonauts more food variety.

Meanwhile, separate sleeping areas have been designed for the space station to ensure that the taikonauts can enjoy a relatively high quality of sleep without any disturbances. While resting in sleeping bags, they can sleep while "lying down", instead of "standing up”, as is usually done in space.

Although taikonauts can't shower or bathe like they do on Earth, they can heat up a wet towel and clean their bodies. To clean their hair, they can put a shower cap on and rub their hair with leave-in shampoo.

Taikonauts can also enjoy some leisure activities after work. Since the space station has full "mobile WiFi” coverage, a living space for a smart home has been created. Each taikonaut also has a handheld terminal that can adjust the cabin lighting environment into various modes, such as sleep mode, work mode and movement mode according to their individual needs, so as to avoid discomfort caused by living in a monotonous environment for a long time.

Furthermore, taikonauts can make video calls and enjoy online life in the space station thanks to instant access to mobile terminals.