China has officially completed its first teaching and practice base for the "simulated moon underground space" program by the Jingbo Lake in Mudanjiang City of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Wednesday.
The latest scientific research indicates that there are considerable lava pipe systems distributed beneath the surfaces of the Moon and Mars. These underground spaces form a sharp contrast with the extremely harsh lunar surface environment. They not only provide a natural barrier for cosmic rays but also have significant strategic value due to the special attributes of their underground spaces.
For further research, Peking University, in collaboration with seven other universities in China, has established the country's first "simulated moon underground space" teaching and practice base in a volcanic lava cave of the Jingbo Lake, to conduct a series of forward-looking and innovative research closely related to deep space exploration.
"The underground volcanic lava pipes by the Jingbo Lake are the most similar environment on Earth to the underground space of the moon. I hope our forward-looking research can serve China's lunar exploration program," said Li Jiaqi, a researcher of Peking University.
Inside the lava cave, two robots are conducting autonomous exploration and multi-functional operations for the "simulated moon underground space".
"Compared with traditional lunar roving vehicles and exploration robots, it has stronger environmental adaptability and flexibility. When exploring the underground space of the moon for the future, it can possess more precise perception, decision-making and operation capabilities," said Li Xianglong, a doctoral student of Harbin Institute of Technology.
Outside the cave, on the open ground, college students were seen working in collaboration to set up seismometers.
"The data we collected from deploying seismometer this time will serve as a reference for our future deployment of seismometers on the moon," said Kang Yi, an undergraduate student of the School of Earth and Space Sciences of Peking University.
China completes first teaching practice base for simulated moon underground space
The heartbreaking story of 96-year-old Peng Zhuying, one of the last living survivors from the Japanese military's "comfort women" system in the Chinese mainland, has been shared in a moving documentary produced by the China Global Television Network (CGTN).
Peng remains one of only seven registered survivors in the Chinese mainland of the Japanese military's "comfort women" system, a brutal a state-enforced regime of sexual slavery during World War II, victimizing over 400,000 women across Asia.
She is also the only living survivor who is officially documented as a victim of both sexual slavery and of Japan's chemical warfare during the Japanese militarists' war of aggression against China.
Eight decades on, Peng has bravely shared the story of her horrifying experiences in the CGTN original documentary "Last Daughters," which reveals the deep scars left by war and captures the quiet strength and warmth that endured, even in the darkest depths of human suffering.
Blinded by mustard gas at age nine and mutilated at 14 before being forced into a military brothel during the war, Peng was able to survive despite facing these unimaginable hardships in her young life.
Peng shared some of the artifacts and the stories behind them from those difficult days.
"This is a fortune slip, a divination note, meaning you need to be cautious in what you do. When I was 16, my father forced me to study fortune-telling. He told me if I didn't learn, I would not get any food. At that time, I wanted to care for children instead, but I could make the call myself. I had to listen to him to make a living," she said.
She memorized every incantation as part of the fortune-telling custom. For 80 years, it was her livelihood, and she has continued to show strength to overcome any challenges in her life.
"I've gone through so much hardship, and yet I'm still alive. Now, I'm only afraid of getting sick and dying from it. I was sick for most of last year, and have yet to recover until now," said Peng.
Though she survived all the tortures and survived from the atrocities conducted by the Japanese aggressors, Peng's health is never been too strong, as she suffered from severe gynecological injuries and became infertile, while also losing her sight as she fell victim to a chemical warfare attack.
"These are gallstones. She had them for several decades. But she lost her eyesight early on and never had toxic exposure. The only explanation is the mustard gas she inhaled. Life for her has been harsh, far harsher than it appears on the surface," said her nephew Peng Zifang.
Japan's "comfort women" system, a state-sponsored sexual slavery scheme by the military, was unprecedented in modern history. It enslaved at least 400,000 women across Asia and the Pacific, including Chinese, Korean, Filipino and many other victims.
Half of those who suffered were Chinese. The Japanese opened its first "comfort women station" in Shanghai and over 2,100 followed in other places they invaded. Girls, deemed "military supplies," were trafficked like weapons.
Later in life, aged 43, Peng married a fisherman 20 years older than her. Only after his death did she speak openly about what she faced.
"Before my father passed away, he told me the stories of my two aunts. I was deeply shaken. Both of my aunts revealed the truth about the 'comfort stations' only after their husbands died. The often-cited figure [of 400,000] known victims barely scratches the surface of the true scale. Many more endured in silence because of the conservative traditions of that era. To speak up meant risking scorn, oppression and even violence. So they bore it quietly," said Peng Zifang.
Documentary reveals life of Chinese survivor of Japan's sexual slavery during WWII
