Luan Enjie, the first commander-in-chief of the lunar exploration project: a man who looks up to the stars but keeps his feet on the ground

Hegel once said that a nation has hope only when it has people who look up to the stars. And around us, there is no shortage of people who look up to the stars but keep their feet on the ground. Luan Enjie, the 81-year-old first commander-in-chief of the lunar exploration project, is one of them.

China Media Group launched the program "My Home, My Country". Host Wang Ning exclusively interviewed Luan Enjie. Let's take a look.

Luan Enjie is often called a "strategic scientist", but he said he was just an engineer. When asked by the host Wang Ning, "Do you hope that everyone will remember your name a hundred years later?", Mr. Luan also sincerely said "I won't force it". He said: "Everyone wants to leave some of the work they have done in their lifetime, not for themselves, but for humanity and society. Even a little bit of water is very meaningful."

Hard work is the manifestation of the aerospace spirit

Luan Enjie loves to read and write poetry. The collection of poems called "Village Feelings" contains all his poems before 2005. However, such a person who writes poems and expresses his aspirations with poems actually put poetry aside for more than ten years and resolutely devoted himself to the lunar exploration project.

For Mr. Luan, "landing on the moon" is a step that the Chinese must take, because "this is an expression of our country's carrying capacity, and what we are expressing is the progress of China's space capabilities."

Mr. Luan's powerful words stem from his confidence in the development level of my country's aerospace technology and his confidence in the aerospace quality management he is in charge of. In the development history of China's aerospace, there are too many lessons learned due to quality problems, which is also the deepest pain in the heart of Mr. Luan, who seems tough on the surface.

Wang Ning: Low-level mistakes are the most discouraging, right?

Luan Enjie: Yes. So over the years, I have paid close attention to even the smallest failures or signs of failure.

Wang Ning: When we talk about aerospace, you will definitely mention the spirit of aerospace, but what exactly is that spirit?

Luan Enjie: Everyone talks about the tradition of aerospace, but one of them is hard work. Qu Qiubai said, if a person does not have a spirit, what is the use of this body? He is just a monkey.

Only those who know pain know what happiness is

The Spring Festival of 2004 was more special than ever for Luan Enjie, who was 64 at the time. On January 23, the second day of the Chinese New Year, China's lunar exploration project was approved and officially entered the implementation stage. That night, Luan wrote the poem "The earth has been cultivated for 60,000 years, Chang'e has been homesick for 5,000 years, the remaining teachings on the ruins urge me to think hard, and it is meaningless to waste my sixties."

In the early morning of December 17, 2020, as the final battle of China's lunar exploration project's "orbit, land, and return" three-step strategy, the Chang'e 5 returner carrying lunar samples landed in Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia. At that time, the 80-year-old Luan insisted on going to Inner Mongolia despite everyone's opposition. He wanted to witness the moment as bright as a shooting star across the night sky.

Luan Enjie: I said I came to take Chang'e home. The 17-year project was successfully concluded. I personally felt the greatness of the Party, the greatness of socialism, the greatness of the national system, and the loveliness of the aerospace team. It was a success whether I went or not, and it had nothing to do with me. But my presence expressed the confidence of Chinese aerospace people, and I went to witness the success of the Chinese people.

Luan Enjie: When I came back from Hohhot by high-speed train, my secretary asked me what I wanted to eat. I said let’s go for mutton hotpot, mutton hotpot in Inner Mongolia.

Wang Ning: My appetite has been opened.

Luan Enjie: Yes, celebrate this success.

Wang Ning: That mutton is very delicious, right?

Luan Enjie: Yes. Only those who have not let go know what it means to let go. Only those who have experienced pain know what happiness is.

Young people should be real people and do real things

Behind every great achievement, there are always people who have made silent contributions. Luan Enjie is lucky to have a family that fully supports his career, which has enabled him to dedicate his life to the aerospace industry. Now, as a parent, a grandfather, and a senior, he also has a lot to say to his younger generations.

Wang Ning: If you were to give a question to today’s young people, what would it be?

Luan Enjie: We want to build a space power. So 20 years later, when I ask you who is number one, where are others? You say you don’t know. Then, can your claim of number one be trusted?

Wang Ning: What if they say they are behind me, is that an answer?

Luan Enjie: Yes, behind you, on what basis? So the biggest challenge for our youth is that no one will stop to wait for the Chinese. If you don't know this, then you are just admiring yourself and bragging. Do you know what the United States has done in the past 20 years? Do you know what India has been like in the past 20 years? If you don't know anything, how can you make a strong country?

Luan Enjie: So my advice to young people is to be serious and down-to-earth, and to be real people and do practical things.

Source: CCTV News Client