What the two Chinese astronauts aboard Shenzhou VI?spacecraft
report to their ground doctors in their ongoing space travel will
be kept secret so as to protect their privacy.
Special codes will be used for the communication between the
astronauts in space and the doctors on ground, said Li Yongzhi,
chief doctor in charge of the medical monitoring and guarantee for
the astronauts.
Before Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng stepped into China's second
piloted spacecraft Shenzhou VI, Li had pasted a special sheet of
paper onto their personal diaries, which was a questionnaire on
their physical conditions.
For example, the questionnaire includes a question "Did you
sleep well?" The astronauts only have to choose from the three
answers "well, so-so, not well." Of course, the answers have been
coded.
"Astronauts have their own privacy. We are responsible for
keeping it secret for them," said Li.
When they return to the Earth, the two astronauts will have
their space diaries packed as personal things and sent to the
"Aerospace Town" in the northwestern suburbs of Beijing, Li
added.
Li serves at the research office of medical monitoring and
guarantee for astronauts, which was founded in 1994. Female experts
like Li make up about half of the office's staff.
(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2005)