China prepares to launch Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft

The combination of the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft and a Long March-7 Y9 carrier rocket was vertically transferred to the launch area at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province on Wednesday.

The cargo spacecraft will be launched in the near future at an appropriate time, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

Despite the impact of a super typhoon in September, the facilities and equipment at the launch site are all in good condition. Various function checks and joint tests will be carried out as scheduled before the launch.

"The transportation happens just like every other time. It proceeds as planned," said Zhang Lu from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

"Before this, we tested it in the technical building and carried out system debugging, including waterproofing it against the high humidity and high salt spray in Hainan," he said.

What is aboard Tianzhou-8?

The Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft will provide supplies for China's Shenzhou-19 crew, who entered the space station on October 30, and the Shenzhou-20 crew to support their life and work in orbit.

In addition to essential items, the cargo includes holiday gift packages for festivals, such as the Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese Dragon Boat Festival, and personalized birthday gifts for crew members to celebrate their birthdays in space.

As for the scientific payload, the first batch comprising space materials and microgravity fluids was transferred with the cargo ship.

The second will have live experiments, including the first live fruit fly aboard the space station, which will be placed on the cargo ship right before it is launched.

The Tianzhou-8 will also carry various equipment and materials for space science experiments, among which are "lunar soil bricks," a material made by Chinese scientists that simulate the composition of lunar soil to build future habitats on the moon.

The space mission will test the mechanical and thermal performance of the bricks, as well as the impact of cosmic radiation on them.

After completing the space experiment, the first brick sample is expected to return to Earth by the end of next year.

"At present, we have completed two full process drills in sample preparation and loading," said Wang Ke, deputy chief designer of space application systems.

"We are carrying out intense sample preparation to ensure the safety of the final samples to be sent to the space station and ensure a complete success," Wang said.

After the transportation, various prelaunch function checks and joint tests will be carried out as planned. The Tianzhou-8 cargo ship is scheduled to launch in the coming days.

(CGTN's Zheng Yibing also contributed to this story.)