news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

business card

ye peijian, born on january 29, 1945 in taixing, jiangsu province, is an academician of the chinese academy of sciences, chief scientist of space science and deep space exploration of the china academy of space technology, chief commander and chief designer consultant of various models of the chang'e series and mars probes, and consultant to the chang'e-1 satellite the chief designer and commander-in-chief made a significant contribution to the success of the first lunar exploration project, and is known as the "sacred needle" of china's chang'e series development team. in january 2017, the international minor planet center named the asteroid no. 456677 "ye peijian star". in 2019, he won the national honorary title of “people’s scientist”.

as a leader in major national aerospace projects, from the lunar exploration project to the dream of mars, ye peijian's name is closely connected with china's aerospace industry.

"being a person and doing things should be like a watch

precision operation is flawless”

"on the road of science, only rigor is the true meaning. we must not only strive for excellence, but also perfection."

"everything must be done seriously, and punctuality is a basic requirement."

ye peijian is famous for his punctuality. on the day of the interview, the appointment was at 9 a.m., no more than no time, and he appeared at the door of the office.

ye peijian’s ultimate pursuit of punctuality and rigorous academic attitude stem from his experience studying technology in switzerland when he was young. he said:"being a person and doing things should run as precisely as a swiss watch, without any deviation. if it works, it works, and if it doesn't, it doesn't work. there is no such thing as 'almost'."

in the 1980s, ye peijian, who had excellent academic performance, came to study at the institute of microtechnology in neuchâtel, switzerland. he studied hard at his desk on weekdays and wasted no time, not even time to drink coffee. in this regard, ye peijian said,china's economy is still relatively backward, and the rejuvenation of the chinese nation has a long way to go.

△in 1981, ye peijian was in front of his dormitory in switzerland.

while studying in switzerland, ye peijian saw moon rocks from the united states for the first time and was both excited and envious. "going up to the sky to embrace the moon" has been a romantic dream of the chinese people for thousands of years. when will we be able to dig up lunar soil and turn this dream into reality?

"the monthly products exhibited by americans are displayed at the entrance of the world intellectual property headquarters. it is a permanent exhibit and represents the national level. i saw it when i went to switzerland to study in the 1980s. decades later, it's still there because no one has surpassed him," ye peijian said.

△in 1985, ye peijian at the swiss thesis defense meeting.

this small piece of lunar soil took root deeply in ye peijian's heart, and he was determined to use actions to change the face of the motherland. after receiving his doctorate in science from switzerland, ye peijian returned to china without hesitation.

thought "lost satellite"

he would rather be thrown to death

at the end of 1988, ye peijian entered the china academy of space technology and, on the recommendation of the old director, academician min guirong, became responsible for the development of the china resources-2 satellite.

△in 1992, ye peijian (first from the right) and min guirong, the old president of the china academy of space technology and an academician of both academies, were in yangzhou.

on september 1, 2000, china resources 2-01 satellite rose from the taiyuan satellite launch center in shanxi province. this satellite is the first transmission remote sensing satellite independently developed by my country. it has high hopes in the fields of scientific research and even national defense. it is also the first satellite for which ye peijian served as chief designer.

△in 2000, ye peijian (first from left) had his last consultation with the rocket chief engineer before the launch of china resources 2-01.

after liftoff, the satellite headed west and was operating normally. however, just when ye peijian was filled with joy and was about to lead his team to carry out follow-up flight control work elsewhere, the bad news came that the satellite was missing.

when ye peijian received the report that the satellite was lost, his heart suddenly went cold:"i hoped that the car would fall down and kill me. i am a martyr. the satellite was lost, and i just went to taiyuan. if it fails in the future, how can i explain to the country, the people, and this team?"

everyone's ten years of hard work would be ruined in one day, and ye peijian suddenly heard a "buzz" in his head. after calming down, he began to think about countermeasures. the next time the satellite flew over our country was the next morning. if effective measures could be taken in time, there might be hope.

fortunately, the battery carried by the satellite performed well, and the commander issued correct instructions, so the problem was solved and the satellite was recovered. ye peijian said that everything that happened was unexpected, so work must be done carefully and carefully.

everything starts from scratch

he led the team to develop chang'e-1

in early 2004, the first phase of the lunar exploration project was approved, marking the official start of china's exploration of the moon. ye peijian serves as the chief designer and commander of the chang'e-1 satellite. what faces him is the dual dilemma of technical blockade and lack of resources. everything was started from scratch, with a lack of components, insufficient ground test conditions, and even no clear technical path on how to fly to the moon.

how to fly for the first time? what orbit are you flying on? how do you know it's the moon? how to brake to the moon... there are many problems that cannot be tested on the ground, so for the first time, it is necessary to complete the project and conduct technical assessment.

△in 2007, ye peijian marked the work progress on the chang'e-1 work flow chart.

in ye peijian's view, the lunar exploration project becomes more and more difficult step by step, but the most difficult part of the chang'e series is the chang'e-1 mission. "before this, china had developed satellites and spacecrafts, but it had never been to the moon. it is a rare opportunity for me to be the chief designer and commander of chang'e-1. as long as i try my best, there is no shame in failure. he also made contributions to the scientific world," said ye peijian.

△in 2007, ye peijian (first from left) held final consultations with the rocket chief engineer before the launch of chang'e-1.

in the end, these problems were solved one by one by ye peijian and technical experts. on november 5, 2007, chang'e-1 successfully lifted off, twisting its body lightly and rotating 180 degrees, like a gorgeous space ballet, completing its first near-lunar braking.

the accusation hall was boiling with excitement, and veteran experts were moved to tears. however, ye peijian was always calm. his "big heart" comes from his confidence in china's lunar exploration project.

△on december 12, 2007, ye peijian delivered a speech at the great hall of the people to celebrate the success of my country’s first lunar exploration project.

go to the far side of the moon!

"even if you fail, you have to try again."

the courage to be the first to eat crabs and the "straight temper" to be uncompromising in the face of scientific research problems made ye peijian one of the key figures in determining the fate of the subsequent "chang'e".

in 2013, when the chang'e-3 probe completed its landing mission on the lunar surface, where would its backup satellite, chang'e-4, go?

many people believe that chang'e-4 does not need to take risks and is more certain to land on the front of the moon. ye peijian decisively stood up to oppose: if we want to move forward and catch up, we must take bigger steps! as long as we work hard, we can solve any imaginable difficulties and get ahead of the world.even if you fail, you have to go again. human beings will always go!

△in a three-dimensional simulation environment, china's chang'e-4 lunar probe landed on the lunar surface.

chang'e-4's lunar exploration journey was full of twists and turns. on december 8, 2018, shortly after the launch of chang'e-4, a malfunction signal was sent back, accusing the hall of being suffocatingly quiet.

ye peijian recalled that he saw from the telemetry parameters that a valve was opened that should not have been opened. in a short period of time, nearly 60 kilograms of fuel were discharged, and the atmosphere in the audience immediately became tense.

since the fuel carried on the aircraft is accurately measured, losing 60 kilograms of fuel will probably result in not being able to fly to the moon, and even if it flies to the moon, it may not be able to land. all efforts will be in vain. at this time, the satellite has already gone into the sky, what should i do?

"we can't do experiments in the sky and solve this problem on the ground." ye peijian said, "we immediately conducted experiments on this valve on the ground and found that the quality of this batch of valves was inconsistent. the quality of this valve definitely did not meet our high standards. so. during the launch process, its status changed. fortunately, we turned it off when we checked again, and it was not broken. "

the problem was solved, but the fuel was lost. ye peijian remained calm and decisive, without any fear. "just like how we live our lives, we have already lost more than 60 kilograms of rice. how can the remaining rice be used for another two months? we carefully calculated the remaining fuel. after careful calculation and careful control, we finally succeeded."

△on january 3, 2019, after chang'e-4 landed on the moon, ye peijian (first from left) stood behind zhang xiu, then executive director of the chang'e-4 detector project. (xinhua news agency/photo)

there are dangers one after another, and ordinary people only see the aura of success. only the astronauts involved in the entire process can understand the hardships and choices involved.

"we chinese will exhibit in the future

a piece of Moon From Far Side”

on december 17, 2020, as the chang'e-5 returner safely returned to the ground carrying lunar samples, china's three-step lunar exploration project of "orbiting, landing and returning" was completed as scheduled, leaving a mark in the history of world spaceflight.

four years later, the chang'e-6 mission successfully completed the first human effort to sample from the far side of the moon, bringing back 1,935.3 grams of precious samples. now, ye peijian no longer has to envy the lunar soil displayed by the united states in switzerland.

ye peijian said:"the americans exhibited a piece of moon in geneva, and we chinese will exhibit a piece of moon from far side in the future - the lunar soil on the far side of the moon."

when it comes to the future, from unmanned lunar exploration to the establishment of lunar scientific research stations, the development and utilization of asteroids, to going to mars, ye peijian always believes that "you have to think further", and he has also set a goal for himself: to complete the mission of astronomical science at present. question no. 2, no. 3, no. 4, chang'e no. 7, and no. 8 will also cooperate with leaders and experts to "open up some wasteland", cultivate some new "land", and expand territory.

ye peijian has always been the "dwelling needle" in the chang'e series model development team. during each launch, among the astronauts in the control hall, the silver-haired ye peijian always attracts attention.

wen bo, deputy chief designer of the chang'e-4 rover of the china academy of space technology, said that ye peijian has always been like a beacon, illuminating the direction of every young person in the team.

△ye peijian

"there is an attitude called walking on thin ice. in the aerospace industry, a small mistake may lead to the failure of the entire mission. each spacecraft is the hard work of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people. your attitude will become wen bo said that the new generation of astronauts have been nurtured and grown up, and the attitude of strictness, prudence, detail and pragmatism can always be seen in the older generation of astronauts such as ye peijian. .

just as ye peijian often said, it is not only to spur the younger generation but also to demand himself:"in the aerospace industry, 100 minus 1 equals 0, and the responsibility is greater than the sky."

reporter’s notes:

i am reporter zhang mianmian. at the end of the interview, mr. ye smiled and talked about the topic of satellite applications. in 1995, he participated in the design of the shenzhen vast network, which used satellites for stock trading. ye peijian lived up to expectations and successfully completed the project, and won the first prize of the ministerial science and technology progress award. the shenzhen stock exchange immediately offered him a high salary of 400,000 yuan per year to change jobs. however, with a monthly salary of only more than 2,000 yuan at the time, he declined politely because he wanted to send satellites. faced with a salary gap of more than ten times, ye peijian simply refused back then, but now he talks about it so calmly. yes, to him, for the bright moon in his heart, what do these personal gains and losses mean?

reporter/zhang mianmian broadcaster/wang xian tang ziwen