9032 meters! The second Qinghai-Tibet scientific expedition set a world record for atmospheric science observation by airship

The picture shows the Jimu-1 III airship in front of Mount Everest and Mount Lhotse. Photo courtesy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

The picture shows a group photo of the airship comprehensive observation expedition team. Photo courtesy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

Reporters learned from the Chinese Academy of Sciences that during the "Peak Mission" Mount Everest scientific expedition, the second comprehensive scientific survey and research on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which was carried out in the Mount Everest region of Tibet, the Jimu-1 III airship platform surpassed the world's highest peak, Mount Everest, at 4:40 a.m. on May 15, reaching an altitude of 9,032 meters. This is the first time in the world that the height of Mount Everest has been surpassed in the Mount Everest region to observe the changing characteristics of the most critical parameters in earth science, such as water vapor and greenhouse gases, at an altitude of more than 9,000 meters.

According to reports, the Jimu-1 III airship platform is equipped with a variety of analytical instruments and equipment including a water vapor stable isotope analyzer, black carbon, methane, and ozone, and has obtained key scientific data on the vertical change process of atmospheric water vapor transmission and greenhouse gases in the Mount Everest region, providing important scientific basis for revealing the environmental changes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau under the influence of westerly wind transmission.

Yao Tandong, leader of the second Qinghai-Tibet scientific expedition team and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that this observation is a fusion of high-tech and cutting-edge science, and has entered an advanced mode in scientific observation. "These results will definitely make scientific contributions to our country and mankind, and will also contribute to the development of human society and global response to climate change."

The reporter learned that the Jimu-1 III airship was independently developed by the Institute of Space Science and Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is the second time that it has broken the world record for the scientific observation altitude of tethered airships during the second Qinghai-Tibet scientific expedition, following the Jimu-1 I airship developed by the Institute of Space Science and Technology in 2019, which reached an altitude of 7,003 meters.

The research team said that this time the Jimu-1 III airship challenged the observation altitude of 9,000 meters above sea level, which was quite difficult.

First, the low temperature, low pressure and high wind speed environment at an altitude of 9,000 meters places stringent requirements on the reliability of the moored airship platform system;

Second, the hull material of the tethered airship is a lightweight, low-density, high-strength, radiation-resistant composite fabric material independently developed by my country. This is the first time it has been used in the harsh environmental conditions of the Mount Everest region, and it has great scientific research and engineering application significance.

Third, the complex electromagnetic environment at an altitude of 9,000 meters and the low temperature, low pressure and high wind speed environmental conditions posed a huge challenge to the stability of the hull, control system, energy system and mooring system of the tethered aircraft. The designers effectively answered these questions from a technical perspective and on-site tests and delivered satisfactory answers.

The airship scientific expedition team is composed of 63 scientific expedition members from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Aerospace Information Innovation Institute, the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, and the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation Eighth Institute.

According to the scientific expedition plan, the expedition team will continue to seize favorable scientific observation windows, obtain more observation data, and actively pursue greater success in scientific research.

Source: Xinhua News Agency