The outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic caused Zhao Xiaojin, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and secretary of the Party Committee of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, to notice a problem worthy of vigilance: space biological safety.

“As part of biosecurity, space biotechnology and safety currently have problems such as the lack of top-level national planning, low research levels, and insufficient application transformation.” Zhao Xiaojin In an interview with a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily, the China Space Station is about to be built, which will lay a foundation for large-scale space biological experiments and continuously improve the national biological safety level.

This year, the National People ’s Congress and the National People ’s Congress of the People ’s Republic of China, Zhao Xiaojin and six other members of the National Committee of the Chinese People ’s Political Consultative Conference, made a number of suggestions on strengthening national space biotechnology and safety research.

Zhao Xiaojin said that space biosecurity refers to the biological factors that humans carry out in near-Earth space scientific research and deep space exploration activities to the earth ’s ecological environment, alien environment and human body Potential threats caused by health, and effective preventive and control measures taken against them. Since the beginning of this year, the spread of the New Coronary Pneumonia epidemic has ensured the safety of space creatures, which is of great significance for building a national security system.

“The conditions for large-scale space biological research in China are maturing.” Zhao Xiaojin said that China ’s long-term orbiting space station will be put into use in 2023. Support more complex, systematic and cutting-edge biological experiments in special space environments to meet national biotechnology and safety research needs.

However, Zhao Xiaojin and 7 other members of the National Committee of the Chinese People ’s Political Consultative Conference also clearly mentioned in the joint proposal that China still faces three major problems and challenges in space biotechnology and safety.

The first is the lack of top-level planning, policy guidance and overall management. Zhao Xiaojin said that China currently lacks space biotechnology and safety-related policies, regulations and strategic planning, and relevant research lacks top-level guidance; China needs comprehensive planning and establishment of unified management in space biological research-related planning, scientific research and space facility resource assurance Institutions and complete coordination mechanisms.

Followed by low level of space biotechnology and safety research and space experiment Space biological experiment is a complicated systematic project, but the resource input and utilization efficiency of China’s space facilities need to be strengthened. “There are few types and low levels of space biological experimental devices, and the normalized experimental capabilities are insufficient. These are difficult to meet the needs of national biosecurity and bioinnovation.” Zhao Xiaojin said.

In addition, China ’s space biotechnology and safety have few application results in medicine, and no“ technology development—product—market input-output ”model has been formed. Zhao Xiaojin told reporters.

Zhao Xiaojin and other 7 members suggested that, based on the needs of the national biosecurity strategy, formulate policies and regulations on space biotechnology and safety research and technology transformation; strengthen top-level design and forward-looking layout to integrate space Biotechnology and safety development are included in the “14th Five-Year Plan” and mid- and long-term development strategies; the establishment of a special research and development fund for space biotechnology and safety, the implementation of a continuous space biosafety research and experiment plan, and continuous improvement of the key technology research capabilities.

They also suggested that the scientific infrastructure construction such as the Space Biosafety Center be included in the “new infrastructure” to provide support, increase investment in space resources, and support biotechnology and safety-related space experiment projects; Strengthen international space science and technology cooperation and accelerate the development of space biological experimental devices.

(Original title 7 CPPCC members joint proposal: Incorporate space biological safety into the “Fourteenth Five-Year Plan” )