2019少年太空人體驗營

It is my pleasure to be able to participate in the 11th Young Astronaut Training Camp. Since I was a child, I have been passionate about Astronomy and Space Science. When I first knew about the YATC from my friends, I immediately told myself that ‘I have to join this camp,’ as I knew it would be a precious opportunity for me to learn something special about Space Science.

The camp was packed with a lot of one-of-a-kind activities. We tried space food, experienced astronaut trainings, met two Chinese Astronauts — Liu Yang and Chen Dong, etc. It was fun and knowledgeable.

We visited a lot of places too. We went to the “FAST” telescope, the Beijing Aerospace City, the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, and a couple of amazing places. However, there was one place in particular that was unforgettable to me — the Xinglong Observatory of the NAOC (National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences). We got to visit a lot of professional telescopes, including the LAMOST and a 2.16m telescope.

During the night at Xinglong, we went stargazing on the rooftop of a building specifically made for sky observations. The sky was full of stars, sparkling like grains of diamonds, and the Milky Way was visible to our bare eyes, arcing across the dome of the sky. It was one of the most beautiful scenery I have laid my eyes on. I was very overwhelmed. As we were all looking up into the starry sky, our camp leader taught us some interesting things like myths of constellations and stars. He also taught us how to identify different constellations and stars, like spotting Polaris with special features of the constellations of Ursa Major and Cassiopeia.

The YATC is truly an once-in-a-lifetime experience. I felt really grateful to be chosen as a participant. I have gained a lot and have made amazing new friends. If given a chance, I would definitely join the camp again.