Three astronauts consume oxygen 1650 liters every day and have been flying for nearly four months. Where does the oxygen come from?

In recent years, China's research on manned space flight is in full swing. For example, the Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft, which was just launched in 202 1 1 year1October, has been four months since its successful launch.

Oxygen is essential for human survival, but there is no need to worry about oxygen on earth, but it is particularly important for astronauts who perform tasks in space.

Take Shenzhou 13 as an example. The spacecraft needs 1650 liters of oxygen every day, and it takes six months to perform the mission. A * * * needs 297000 liters of oxygen. Must this oxygen be carried from the ground?

On earth, we can breathe freely, inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide; The existence of photosynthesis allows carbon dioxide to be recycled by plants, and so on. But in space, there is not only no such circulation, but also no oxygen. Therefore, when carrying out space missions, oxygen must be considered, otherwise astronauts can't breathe. How do they carry out the task?

When carrying out space missions, there are generally three ways to make oxygen: one is to carry pure oxygen cylinders from the earth, and before the flight, astronauts will carry pure oxygen cylinders prepared in advance from the earth to ensure sufficient oxygen supply in space. This method is very direct, but the efficiency is very low, especially the problem of carrying;

The second type is solid oxygen generator, which is a device that directly produces oxygen through chemical reaction. Relatively speaking, raw materials occupy a small volume and produce a lot of oxygen, which is a common way of oxygen supply in space.

The third is electrolytic water, which is used to produce oxygen and hydrogen. Oxygen is used for astronauts' breathing, and the generated hydrogen can also be used as fuel. This way is the main way of oxygen supply in space.

If the space mission is short-distance, it is the best way to carry oxygen cylinders from the earth, but if the space mission is long-distance, it is very inconvenient to carry oxygen cylinders. Compared with the other two methods, electrolyzed water is not only safe, but also the hydrogen produced by electrolysis can be used continuously.

In addition, only a small amount of water is needed to produce a large amount of oxygen during electrolysis, so Shenzhou XIII mainly produces oxygen by electrolyzing water.

Electrolyzing water, as the name implies, of course, is to let current pass through water, which is composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. Water is decomposed into hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis, that is, 2H2O== 2H2 O2, in which the current is generated by the solar panel of the space station, regardless of the electricity fee.

The data show that a liter of water can produce 620 liters of oxygen after electrolysis, while an adult consumes 550 liters of oxygen every day, so electrolysis of a liter of water is enough for an astronaut.

Speaking of which, someone asked, water is used to produce oxygen by electrolysis, so how can astronauts use water in other ways? In order to make full use of water resources, China also designed a water circulation system on the space station to collect water used by astronauts, such as the water washed by astronauts, the sweat or urine of astronauts, etc.

After being treated by the water circulation system, it is finally converted into drinkable fresh water, so that oxygen and water resources can be used alternately, thus ensuring the normal life of astronauts.

In the early morning of 2002116, Shenzhou XIII was successfully launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and went to China's self-manned space station Tiangong to perform its mission. This is the sixth flight and the last mission of the key technology verification stage of China Space Station. It was completed by three astronauts, Zhai Zhigang, Ye Guangfu and Wang Yaping, among whom Wang Yaping was from China.

At present, the Shenzhou XIII spacecraft has been flying for four months, and it is planned to return to Earth in mid-April this year and land at the Dongfeng landing site. In other words, Shenzhou XIII will carry out a six-month space mission. As the longest space mission, it is only a great test for these three astronauts.

When Shenzhou XIII returns to Earth, it will adopt a brand-new technology-rapid return technology, which has never been implemented before, in order to shorten the return time and improve flight efficiency.