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Understanding the health risks of extended periods in space on the human body, and taking measures to mitigate them is essential for the success of future crewed spaceflight missions.
For the past 20 years, the SMU team led by a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Shizhen Zhong, has conducted various experiments on the effects of long-term orbital spaceflight, and of radiation exposure on the human body, as well as life-support systems for astronauts.
In 2005, SMU was awarded as the best collaborative unit for the Shenzhou VI mission by the China Astronaut Research and Training Center. In 2018, SMU was lauded by the Center for its role in modernizing national defence strategies and space programmes.