On the morning of June 20th, China successfully delivered a space lesson for the first time. The astronauts aboard Tiangong 1 space lab illustrated some basic physical experiments in microgravity for Chinese youth. 

The space lesson was delivered by astronaut Wang Yaping, associated by Nie Haisheng, with Zhang Xiaoguang as the cameraman. At 10:04 a.m., the ground classroom in High School Affiliated to Renmin University began the lecture. The students and teachers watched a video clip that describes astronauts’ lives in space. At 10:11, with dual-directional communication links between ground class and Tiangong 1 established, the space lesson formally started. Astronauts carried out such experiments as mass measurement, pendulum movement, gyroscopic motion and water bubble, demonstrated objects’ motion characteristics in microgravity and the surface tension of water in space, and interacted with students on the ground via live video communication. 

This educational program was co-hosted by China Manned Space Agency, the Ministry of Education and China Association for Science and Technology. Over 330 students, including the representatives of minority students, the children of major city immigrant workers and the students from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, listened to the lesson in ground class and more than 60 million students and teachers from 80 thousand high schools all over China watched the live video. 

The space lesson, as the first application mission in educational field in Chinese manned spaceflight history, reflects the idea that manned space engineering would directly benefit national education. It will definitely further spark the youth’s enthusiasm to worship science, love space science and explore the unknown world. （Translated by Yu Yanjuan）