Today people are presented with a number of opportunities to change and perhaps improve their lives through space exploration and the unpredictable results of space experiments. There is a chance for researchers who have failed to find solutions to various medical, biological, physical, and environmental problems on Earth to continue working in space and try to achieve new results. I believe that space medicine offers one of the most interesting and challenging areas for working with the China Space Station. The unique opportunity presented by this choice is the chance to combine certain scientific issues with recent innovations, ethical concerns, scientific theories, and human resources. Diabetes is a health problem that troubles millions of people around the whole world, regardless of their age, the color of their skin, or their nationality. It cannot be cured, and the only thing that patients can do is learn how to live with it, control the glucose level in their blood, and take precautionary steps. It is time to find out if space exploration, with its lack of gravity, completely new environment, and specialized materials, can contribute to the development of a treatment plan for diabetics.
Diabetes turns out to be a serious problem for many people around the world, and China is a country where about one in ten citizens are classified as diabetic or at least pre-diabetic. The prevalence of this disease continues to grow, and even the most well-funded and experienced researchers and doctors are not able to control it or provide patients with a clear and effective explanation of its cause. In space, people have to face a new environment, so that space medicine and biology require the introduction of original insights. The absence of earth-related stressors or environmental factors and the necessity to change nutrition and daily schedules may have a unique impact on diabetic patients. This experiment aims to determine if space conditions are able to influence glycemic control (i.e., the presence of a high level of glucose in the blood, which is the main cause of diabetes). The connection between gravity and blood flow is evident because it determines people’s ability to walk on Earth. Therefore there is a possibility that gravity and the dynamics of how blood cells work in space can affect the progress of diabetes and present new possibilities for controlling it. Experiments will be needed to find out if this suggestion has the potential to succeed.
As of this moment, the experiments developed by NASA are not sufficient to understand the peculiarities of glucose detection in space. Several steps have already been taken to establish this experimental approach as a solid foundation for space medicine. This area of investigation not only presents a chance to improve space exploration and proves that space activities have their own worth. This idea symbolizes the hope that diabetic people may find a solution to their problem one day. To conduct this research, it will be necessary to analyze past studies and evaluate the results with regard to such factors as gravity and the space environment. Many people who have diabetes would be eager to participate in this research not because of a chance to be famous or earn a lot of money, but because of the opportunity to save the lives of millions of people. When someone loses hope, it becomes unlikely that positive solutions can be found. This research may not only advance medical knowledge but also make a global contribution to public health. New risks, as well as the answers to research questions, should be taken into consideration.
The Chinese space program can be used as an opportunity to facilitate research and experiments in space physics and studying space environments. One of the most prospective studies could be dedicated to investigating solar proton events. Forecasting solar energetic particle events (SEP) is necessary for space operations and satellite launches, as those are particularly vulnerable emissions beyond 45-50 MeV. Since the Chinese space station is expected to remain operational for a very long time, it would be possible to gather a decade’s worth of data and use it to make predictions about the time and intensity of future emissions. In addition, it is possible to study the relationship between the activity of the Sun in connection to the magnetosphere and the ionosphere. This data is necessary to ensure the safety of long-term labor and the habilitation of astronauts in space.
Another potential venue that could use the assistance of the Chinese space station program is the surveillance of the environment and the prediction of natural disasters. As it stands, the world is in danger from various anthropocentric factors such as the greenhouse gas effect, pollution, oil spills, etcetera. It is possible for the space station to field radars, infrared scanners, and other machinery that could detect and report changes to the environment. Other prospective approaches could involve space geoscience and mesosphere interactions. Developing new sensor technologies will open new opportunities for detecting and controlling the weather, developing a better understanding of the world’s ecology, and provide multidimensional information about air, land, and sea. Based on multimodal approaches to earth geosphere and climate, it would be possible to develop technology to predict earthquakes and other natural disasters as well.
Collaboration with the Chinese space station program is a good way to facilitate experiments and research that were conducted as part of other space programs. For example, the construction of space telescopes is an important part of modern space science and technology development. Station-based telescopes are not affected by Earth’s atmosphere, thus being capable of perceiving light at much greater distances. At the same time, they allow for a much greater degree of fluidity and human-machine interaction when compared to satellite-based telescopes. The new Chinese space station can potentially serve as a platform for a giant telescope, bigger than anything ever built in space before.
Lastly, the appearance of another space station orbiting the planet enables greater opportunities for Earth studies. NASA has been actively working to develop and implement the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System, or CATS, which enables studying clouds, ash, smoke, and other substances in the Earth’s atmosphere, from space. One such system was a joint project between the USA and France in 2006. It is possible to install a similar system onboard the space station and enable the station’s crew to operate it. The system involves using a lidar – a laser-based radar system, in order to measure and study the thickness and distance between the clouds and different parts of the atmosphere. Not only this would break the western monopoly over the technology, but it would also ensure a spirit of competition that would ultimately lead to progress. Lastly, this project would enhance humanity’s understanding of how various gaseous and particle substances sprayed across the atmosphere would affect weather patterns and world climate. Some of the potential applications include reducing the levels of pollution, protection from radiation, and even reparations to the ozone layer.