The best scientific and technological achievements of China in 2022

1.

The best scientific and
technological achievements
of China in 2022

2.

Final module docks at China's
Tiangong space station
According to the Chinese Manned Space Agency, on November 3, the Mengtian
laboratory module of the Chinese Tiangong space Station carried out an
important relocation operation, marking the completion of the assembly of the
Chinese station in orbit.
Tiangong has become the world's third multi-module manned orbital station. As
part of three modules , it has a mass of more than 60 tons. The spacecraft consists
of four sections – a crew working compartment, a payload section, an airlock
cabin and a service module.

3.

Scientific expedition
to Mount
Jomolungma
• On May 4, Chinese scientific researchers
established an automatic meteorological
monitoring station at an altitude of over
8,800 meters, making it the world's
highest of its kind, on Mount
Jomolungma.
• It has replaced the station sitting at an
altitude of 8,430 meters on the south side
of the mountain, set up by British and US
scientists in 2019, to become the world's
highest.

4.

China sets world record in
long-distance quantum
states transmission
Chinese scientists made record-breaking progress in realizing quantum states
transmission between two ground stations- the Lijiang station in Yunnan
province and the Delingha ground station in Qinghai province, which are
over 1,200 kilometers apart, via a quantum scientific experiment satellite,
signaling a giant step towards constructing a global quantum information
processing and communication network.

5.

World's longest quantum secure direct
communication
• Researchers in Beijing have set a new world record for quantum secure direct
communication (QSDC) at 102.2 km, beating the previous figure of 18 km. The
findings were presented in an article published in early April in the journal Light:
Science & Applications.
• The transfer rate was extremely low — 0.54 bits per second, but still sufficient to
encrypt text messages and phone calls at a distance of 30 km. The work may eventually
lead to a tamper-proof connection, since any attempt to listen to a quantum line can be
instantly detected.
• QSDC uses the principle of entanglement to protect networks. Quantum physics says
that entangled particles are interconnected, so if you change the property of one of them
by measuring it, the other will instantly change, which makes hacking impossible.

6.

China's first
self-developed
aircraft C919
delivered
• On Dec 9, the first C919 aircraft for
commercial use was delivered to
China Eastern Airlines. The C919,
China's first domestically-developed
large passenger jet, made its
maiden flight in 2017 and received a
certificate from the Civil Aviation
Administration of China in
September.
• The introduction of the C919 is a
milestone achievement for the
Chinese high-tech sector. The fact
that China can organize such a big
project means "Made in China" has
reached a higher level.

7.

Images obtained by
Kuafu 1 released,
realizing multiple firsts
in China and abroad
• On Dec 13, China released the first batch
of scientific images captured by the
country's Advanced Space-based Solar
Observatory, which is specially designed to
carry out comprehensive probes of the Sun.
• The space-borne solar observatory is
nicknamed Kuafu 1, after a giant in Chinese
mythology who chased the sun. It was
launched by a Long March 2D rocket on
Oct 9 from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
in Northwest China's Gobi Desert. Being a
near-Earth orbit mission, it is the world's
first solar telescope in space that can
simultaneously monitor solar flares and
coronal mass ejections.

8.

Nation's mightiest
rocket engine tested
successfully
On Nov 5, Engineers in China's space industry conducted a
key test of the country's most powerful liquid-propellant rocket
engine, a step forward in the development of a super-heavy
carrier rocket.
Developed by the Academy of Aerospace Propulsion
Technology in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, the 500-metric-ton
thrust engine's first ignition test took place at the academy's
testing facility in a Xi'an suburb.
The achievement is an important breakthrough in the research
and development of the engine, which is four times mightier
than China's strongest rocket engine, which has a thrust of 120
tons. The new engine is expected to be the main propulsion on
the Long March 9 rocket, a model under research and
development that will be used to send Chinese astronauts to
the moon.

9.

Fish fossils found in
China rewrite
evolutionary history
According to four articles published in the journal Nature on Sept
28, Chinese researchers reported finding fish fossils that provided
the "missing link" about the origin of the jaw, a key trait that gave
rise to 99.8 percent of all vertebrate species living on Earth today,
from giant whales to humans.
The well-preserved fish fossils, dating back to the early Silurian
Period, were discovered in Chongqing municipality and Guizhou
province respectively by a team led by Zhu Min, an academician at
the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The fossils include five new species of ancient fish, and among
them are the oldest-known jawed vertebrates with teeth, which is
significant. The crucial discoveries could rewrite the evolutionary
story of how humans evolved from fish.

10.

New means of
synthesizing carbon
dioxide can help tackle
environmental issues in
a big way
• According to a study published on the
journal Nature Catalysis on April 28,
Chinese scientists have created an
efficient way of synthesizing carbon
dioxide into energy-rich long carbon
chain compounds like sugar and fatty
acids.
• It is a starting point for realizing lightreaction-free artificial synthesis of
important organic products from CO2.
Experts said the technology may turn
a common greenhouse emission into
a valued product, which may present
a new way to tackle environmental
issues and achieve a sustainable
economy.

11.

FAST telescope reveals
unprecedented details of
Milky Way
• Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope, or
the "China Sky Eye," Chinese scientists revealed the unprecedented
details of the Galactic interstellar medium.
• Led by Han Jinlin, a scientist with the National Astronomical
Observatories of China, the research team published their new
findings on Dec 10 in the latest journal Science China: Physics,
Mechanics & Astronomy.
• Astronomers managed to find a giant cloud by directing FAST at the
Stefan Quintet — a well-known group of galaxies that was discovered
145 years ago. This cloud, consisting mainly of hydrogen atoms, is
about 2 million light-years wide, which is 20 times larger than the
Milky Way.
• Scientists believe that a colossal cloud can exist for a billion years,
and this is surprising. According to the accepted theory, a low-density
atomic gas should have already been destroyed by ultraviolet radiation
on a cosmic background. The discovery could help scientists
understand the origin of galaxies and identify similar gas structures
lurking elsewhere in the universe.

12.

China rolls out core
component of world's
largest 'artificial sun'
• On Nov 22, China rolled out a core component in the
world's largest nuclear fusion reactor project, also known
as the world's largest "artificial sun".
• The production of the enhanced-heat-flux first wall panel of
the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor has
been completed. The ITER's first wall panel, designed to
have immediate contact with plasma as hot as 100 million
degrees Celsius, is regarded as one of the major
components in the reactor core.
• The ITER, one of the largest and most important
international scientific research projects in the world, is
reputed as an "Artificial Sun" since it generates clean,
carbon-free energy in a way similar to the sun by emitting
light and heat via fusion reactions.

13.

World's
largest allterrain crane
completes
first lifting
According to its developer, the Chinese
engineering giant Xuzhou Construction Machinery
Group, on November 14, the world's largest all—
terrain crane completed its first lift at an onshore
wind power project in Shandong Province in
eastern China.
The crane, dubbed XCA2600, lifted a cargo
weighing 171 tons to a height of 160 meters at a 50
MW wind power facility in Shandong Province.