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Supporting the Life Support Umbrella of Aerospace Heroes

——Documentary report on the medical support mission of the Shenzhou 15 manned flight mission medical rescue team

Journey three thousand miles, shoulder to shoulder the aerospace dream!

From the heart and capital of our motherland to the vast depths of the Gobi Desert, the Shenzhou series manned flight mission medical rescue team quietly sets out with the stars every time, silently returning in the morning, faithfully fulfilling the responsibilities assigned by the Party and personnel for space medical rescue missions. They are always ready to escort the safe return of space heroes with unwavering courage, fearless sacrifice, and relentless pursuit of excellence and meticulous technical skills. They have successfully completed all the medical support missions of Shenzhou manned flights and shouldered the mountain like responsibility of escorting the dream of flying. They have been working hard day and night to welcome the astronauts back home safely——

Be fully prepared to ensure no mistakes

The Shenzhou manned flight mission medical rescue team is a special team. It is called special because their figures cannot be seen on the TV screen, but they always adhere to the bottom line of astronaut safety. Since the launch of Shenzhou 5, the medical rescue team of the Shenzhou manned flight mission at the center has undergone 10 launches and recovery missions of the Shenzhou.

In December 2022, after the return of Shenzhou XIV, the medical team will be ready for the manned launch of Shenzhou 16 and the manned return of Shenzhou 15. The team will quickly form a special task force with professional security, honed skills, and experienced posts, and put into the intense preparation. In the team, there are not only veteran healthcare workers Chen Zhiming, vanguard of anti epidemic party members Peng Xing, and model of Far Sea Companion Training Zhao Lin, but also healthcare elite model Sun Peiming, surgical skill expert Sun Yikun, and emergency medical expert Zhu Ming... The combination of elderly, middle-aged, and young people, and hierarchical connection.

This time, they aimed at the fact that the "one up and one down" interval between Shenzhou 15th and 16th was only 5 days, with fast task conversion, tight preparation time, high support requirements, and difficult early morning operations. They repeatedly discussed the characteristics, difficulties, and bottlenecks of task support, and formed 93 types of medical treatment plans in 6 categories of "anti fatigue and error prevention". They constructed and optimized a complete set of medical rescue procedures.

"The medical rescue system is equipped with two platforms, airborne and vehicular. Once an astronaut 'passively exits the spacecraft' or even a larger accident occurs, these two platforms will arrive at the return capsule as soon as possible to carry out rescue tasks," said Gao Junfeng, the leader of the medical rescue team. On the rescue platform, there are over 1500 pieces of equipment, including 57 emergency medications such as anti shock drugs and anti venom drugs that are readily available. There are also 28 emergency surgical kits, and even fully equipped ICUs have been moved to helicopters for immediate surgery.

The main landing site covers complex terrains such as deserts, hills, lakes, and Gobi. In order to successfully complete the mission, Gu Jianwen did not rest for a moment during the days when he led his team to the landing site. He led the medical team to maneuver 1800 kilometers by helicopter, flying over the Badain Jaran Desert, comprehensively inspecting the terrain and topography, meticulously improving the treatment plan, and conducting on-site research on the emergency medical preparedness of the hospital.

Experts have designed measures to address the most likely injuries and illnesses that astronauts may experience when landing on spacecraft. For example, various physical injuries such as impact, collision, high temperature, combustion, gas poisoning, decompression sickness, etc. must be immediately treated with medical treatment such as hemostasis, bandaging, and fixation. To this end, the medical team has developed detailed rescue plans specifically for various complex injuries such as hypoxia, organ damage, chemical poisoning, traumatic brain injury, external chest injury, and limb injury, and has the ability to timely treat astronauts in the event of multiple injuries.

Scientific guarantee is only for a safe return

Manned spaceflight is the most complex, difficult, and demanding system engineering in human spaceflight activities. Any small mistake or mistake can cause huge harm to astronauts. We must fully defend the solid defense line for astronaut health and safety. Starting from the Shenzhou-5 manned spaceflight test mission, this medical team has successfully completed all astronaut medical rescue and support tasks. The success of each mission cannot be separated from the rigorous and meticulous exploration of batches of medical rescue team members.

Shenzhou-5, the first space medical rescue, relied on rich clinical experience and meticulous logical reasoning to fill the gap of "0" in space medical rescue;

Shenzhou VII, for the first time, adopted the method of "one aircraft targeting one person" to carry out rescue operations, winning valuable time for saving lives;

Shenzhou 11, returning for the first time in winter, conducted a simulated first aid drill under low temperature and low light conditions in the field. They conducted outdoor measurements every hour on a winter night at -18 ℃, and ultimately explored a complete set of warming and insulation methods and rescue measures under extremely cold conditions;

Shenzhou-12, for the first time, carried out full process medical rescue support for the spacecraft's standby phase, ascent phase, in orbit flight phase, and return search and rescue phase. In response to the record breaking longest time for astronauts in orbit, ten typical injury treatment principles were systematically sorted out and formed, reaching expert consensus.

On Shenzhou XIV and 15, the first "space rendezvous", abnormal returns may increase sharply. In the face of new requirements and challenges, the medical team once again launched a charge to the medical highland and successfully completed the mission.

Although medical rescue experts have undergone several batches of nearly twenty years of arduous training and repeated adaptation, and have already developed a set of excellent emergency response measures, from rescue techniques, drug preparation to medical equipment, all have reached a first-class level. They have made sufficient preparations for all possible injuries and illnesses that astronauts may suffer. However, in order to have a one in ten thousand possibility, they still do not let go of any doubts, always hoping to think more comprehensively, deeply, and meticulously.

The medical team regards each manned spaceflight medical rescue mission as a new topic for research and development due to its different climate and environment, personnel, in orbit time, and return window period. To ensure the success of the mission, the team members comprehensively evaluated the safety risks of the return mission of Shenzhou 15 and revised and improved 12 disposal plans, including the "Implementation Plan for Medical Rescue under Extreme Conditions for Astronauts". Sun Peiming, a general surgeon who has participated in the Shen-14 medical rescue mission, introduced that the medical problems that astronauts may encounter mainly include space motion sickness, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, infectious diseases, various pains, as well as medical emergencies such as burns and acute abdomen with a low probability of occurrence. In the event of abnormal working conditions during the return phase and landing of the spacecraft, astronauts may experience landing impact injuries, excessive physical exertion, and fatigue. "In case of emergency situations, we must seize every minute to ensure the safety of astronauts.". To this end, the team members brainstormed and repeatedly revised more than 10 times, ultimately improving the medical rescue plan for manned flight missions, the implementation plan for medical rescue support at landing sites, and the possible accidental injuries and emergency procedures for astronauts.

"This is currently a very advanced bone marrow puncture gun in China," said team member Sun Xiaowei. In order to improve first aid capabilities, while continuously innovating and optimizing support processes and treatment plans, the medical team has also updated and equipped itself with new defibrillation monitors, ventilators, attractors, and bone marrow puncture guns. It has also introduced and added digital thoracic drainage systems, visual laryngoscopes, backpack carbon fiber oxygen cylinders, and other equipment. Medical team member Zhou Junjun introduced that the equipment used by the medical team is configured in three sets, with an additional set for backup; All electrical equipment is equipped with three spare batteries to ensure battery life; All equipment is equipped with operation process cards, and each team member is proficient in mastering them.

Through countless trials and tribulations, I am willing to become an unknown hero

The ambulance team strives for excellence in every drill. The team members know that although they have worked hard and prepared themselves, the possibility of using it is very small, but even if it is almost one in ten thousand, they must avoid it. Through repeated, full process, and practical exercises, and repeated discussions on the problems and various possibilities that may arise in actual combat, the rescue team members have become familiar with all the response measures.

Nervous and systematic drills are almost always conducted late at night. The biological clocks of the team members were disrupted, and sleeping became a luxury, but as soon as the command to "start the drill" was given, each one immediately became energetic and joined the battle.

"Report to the commander, identify rescue targets 01, 02, and 03, and quickly carry out inspections." The medical team members were seen standing at the entrance of the cabin, jumping down from a height of 15 meters without any hesitation.

They first lifted the simulated astronaut onto a shovel stretcher, quickly assessed the condition, and immediately escorted him into an ambulance helicopter. Kong Xiangkai issued instructions, Zhao Lin delivered oxygen, Zhu Ming began electrocardiogram monitoring, and Gao Xiaopei established a venous channel. After a preliminary examination of the injury, the first aid was carried out according to the original treatment procedure... The drill ended at 10am the next day and returned to the station. Everyone immediately ignored rest and quickly reviewed the drill.

Astronauts have been in orbit for a long time, and the geological conditions at the landing site are complex. This series of situations increase the probability of injuries and make medical rescue more difficult. It is necessary to practice medical rescue skills, arrive in a timely manner, diagnose quickly, and effectively deal with them.

Medical emergency treatment takes 10 minutes for platinum and 1 hour for gold. In response to possible situations where the spacecraft deviates from the landing point, lands in deserts, mountains, and lakes, and search and rescue helicopters cannot land or vehicles cannot enter, medical rescue team members carry pre cabin emergency equipment and train for six to seven hours a day to quickly reach the landing site. They run with heavy loads in deserts and mountains, striving to provide emergency treatment in the shortest possible time. In the scorching summer of the Gobi Desert, the wind and sand filled the air. After a day of training, the team members had sand in their ears and eyes, mud marks on their faces and necks, all turned into clay figures. The vast grasslands record the figures of the medical team members of the Shenzhou manned flight mission, who have repeatedly conducted medical rescue aerial and ground coordination exercises, as well as comprehensive coordination exercises

Practicing medical rescue skills is a necessary professional ability. Everyone is not divided by profession or field, competing to learn and practice. The use of bone marrow infusion system for critically ill or battlefield emergency is rare, and medical rescue teams specifically purchase sheep bones for practice. Orthopedic doctor Qi Hongzhe explained the key points of operation while practicing, and everyone quickly mastered the operating skills. Cardiovascular physician Mao Shuai trained everyone on the use of portable ultrasound and emergency pericardial puncture techniques. The medical rescue team is like a "camel thorn" fighting against the wind and sand on the Gobi Desert, honing its ability to quickly respond to emergencies and fighting tenaciously on the front line of medical rescue support.

For many years, the medical rescue team members of the Shenzhou manned flight mission, who have escorted manned spaceflight missions, have always been unknown and willing to stand behind. The team members said, "I hope my team will always be a 'useless' team." Although no one hopes that on-site medical care will eventually come in handy, it is these selfless contributions behind the scenes that make the lives of astronauts more secure.