-

15 of China's astronauts have completed a 19-day programme of field survival training in the Badain Jaran Desert in the northwest of the country, simulating an emergency return to Earth and landing scenario.

The training, organised by the Astronaut Center of China (ACC), was the country's first astronaut desert training and another step in preparations for the start of the Chinese Space Station project and crewed missions, following joint sea survival training with European Space Agency counterparts last summer.

The training was supervised by the nearby Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre and was aimed at improving response ability in the event of an emergency landing of crewed spacecraft in desert areas.

In six groups of three, the astronauts simulated an emergency landing scenario and then performed a range of tasks and trials including short-and-long distance rescue communications, field survival bunker construction and desert trekking. Each group was in action for 48 hours.

The desert environment subjected the astronauts to strong direct sunlight, high and low temperatures, high winds carrying sand and other harsh conditions.

The astronauts, or hangtianyuan (航天员) in Chinese, put into practice their knowledge of survival gear, making SOS signs, firing flares, using protective clothing and using the sparse vegetation to make a fire after sundown.

According to Huang Weifen, the deputy chief designer of ACC, the training, which ended on Saturday, tested and verified the configuration and durability of the survival gear and provided valuable references for their future improvement.

Chinese Space Station plans

China is aiming to launch the core module of the Chinese Space Station (CSS) in 2020, following the test flight of the Long March 5B rocket next June.

The three-module CSS will require more than a dozen launches, including two further 20-metric-tonne experiment modules, Tianzhou cargo supply craft - both from Wenchang - and crewed Shenzhou missions from Jiuquan to make it fully operational by around 2022.

Last August ESA astronauts Sam Cristoforetti and Matthias Maurer joined the Chinese astronauts for joint sea survival training off the coast of Shandong Province.

The desert training period also saw the astronauts conduct emergency evacuation training at the launch area of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, from which China's astronauts are lofted into orbit by Long March 2F launch vehicles.