Chinese astronauts deliver lecture from space station

BEIJING -- The fourth live class from China's space station was held on Thursday afternoon, delivered by the Shenzhou XVI astronauts Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao to students on Earth.

This was the first science lecture delivered from the Mengtian lab module of the Tiangong space station and the fourth in the "Tiangong Class" series.

During the 48-minute lecture, the astronauts introduced scenes from their work and life in the Mengtian lab module.

They also demonstrated various interesting experiments in the microgravity environment, such as spherical flame and metal gyroscope experiments, and those showing the law of momentum conservation. They also explained the scientific principles of these experiments.

Five classrooms are set on the ground, including one at the Beihang University in Beijing. Around 2,800 students joined the lecture at these sites.

During the livestreamed lecture, the astronauts interacted with students in the classrooms on Earth.

In the future, more space lectures will be given during the space station's application and development stage, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

As China's national space laboratory, the Tiangong space station plays a pivotal role in science popularization and education.

The Shenzhou XIII and Shenzhou XIV astronaut crews have previously given three "Tiangong Class" lectures, which received warm responses.