The Space Environment Simulation Research Infrastructure (SESRI), also known as the ‘Ground-based Space Station’, is one of the 16 national major scientific and technological infrastructures initiated by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) during China’s 12th Five-Year Plan, constructed and operated under the coordination of Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT). By simulating space environmental factors such as vacuum, temperature cycling, particle irradiation, electromagnetic radiation, dust, atomic oxygen, weak magnetic fields, and plasma on the ground, the facility allows for studies in the effects of space environments on spacecraft materials, devices, and living organisms, and on the related physical mechanisms. This provides a foundational platform of research dedicated to enhancing the reliability and lifetime of spacecraft, and supporting the long-term space habitation of astronauts.
Approved by the NDRC in 2015, the construction of the SESRI began in 2017, and passed the national evaluation in February 2024, with a total investment of nearly 2 billion Yuan, covering an area of 350,000 square meters. The SESRI is the first national major scientific and technological infrastructure deployed in Northeast China, under the national strategy for regional revitalization. It is also China’s only large-scale science facility designed to study the interaction between space environments and matters.
The SESRI comprises the Space Combined Environment Simulation and Research System, the Space Magnetic Environment Simulation and Research System, the Space Plasma Environment Simulation and Research System, and the Numerical Simulation and Central Monitoring System. As the world’s first large-scale research facility capable of comprehensive investigations about the coupling effects of multi space environments, the SESRI plays a crucial role in advancing the space exploration by humans and deepening our understanding of how space environments influence matter.
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