The world’s largest astronomical museum has opened in Shanghai, where Chinese space research breakthroughs will be presented to those interested, as well as international achievements in the discipline, China’s Global Times reported in its online edition on Wednesday.
The Shanghai Astronomical Museum is located on a plot of 58,600 square meters in the recently handed over part of the city’s free trade zone. With an area of 38,000 square metres, it is the largest museum dedicated to astronomy in the world.
Named Home, Universe, and Odyssey, three parts of the exhibition allow visitors to learn about the solar system, the observable part of outer space, and the history of mankind’s efforts in astronomy and space exploration.
As described by the Global Times, carefully designed exhibition details, sound and light effects, and ultra-realistic simulation provide visitors with an immersive experience. To facilitate understanding of astronomy, the exhibition presents various abstract concepts of astronomy and known experiments related to the discipline using experimental models and equipment. The experiment of French physicist Leon Foucault proving the Earth’s rotation from west to east has been reconstructed, and the spaghetti effect of black holes, the theory of relativity and the Doppler phenomenon is deeply reconstructed.
MTI wrote that among the achievements in Chinese space exploration, those interested can view high-resolution models of various Chinese space devices. The final section of the exhibit includes, among other things, a replica of the already launched central module of the Chinese space station under construction, as well as China’s Zhou Zong March and lunar orbiter called Jtu II.
China has invested billions of dollars in recent years to catch up with the United States, Russia and Europe in space research. Two years ago, in 2019, he had a huge success when he was the first to deliver a spacecraft to the side of the Moon away from Earth.
In addition to building a permanent space station, a Chinese mission to Mars is currently underway as part of China’s space exploration programme. A Chinese probe called Tienven-1 landed on the red planet on May 15.
China’s other plans also include bringing a crewed spacecraft to the moon and establishing a permanent research base on the moon.
