Category: Chinese Culture

It is on the morning of October 26, 2023, the “Shenzhou 17” manned spacecraft carrying three Takionauts will be launched from the 921 station of the Jiuquan Satellite launch Center, Inner Mongolia, China, People’s Republic of China  by the “Long March 2F” Yao 17 carrier rocket to joining up with the Crew of the Shenzhou 16 Takionaut Crew onboard the Tiangong –China Space Station, On the 25th October 2023 CNSA- China National Space Administration According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, the Takionaut Shenzhou 17 Crew is aiming to be launched at 11:14 on October 26^th 2023.

The crew for the Shenzhou 17 manned mission will consist of three Takionauts: Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie, and Jiang Xinlin, with Tang Hongbo serving as the commander. The crew includes 1 second-batch astronaut and 2 third-batch Takionauts. It is the youngest average age of the Takionaut crew since the launch of the space station construction mission…..

On the morning of October 26 2023, the Shenzhou 17 manned spacecraft was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Three Takionauts, Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie, and Jiang Xinlin, and the “Shenzhou 17 manned mission logo” carried the spacecraft to space. As the designer of the Shenzhou 17 manned mission logo, Tan Haoyu, a student at Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, was also invited to the launch site to observe and witness.

At 11:13:59 in the morning, the Shenzhou 17 spacecraft was ignited and launched. There was a special audience at the scene. She was the designer of the Shenzhou 17 mission logo—Tan Haoyu, a first-year postgraduate student majoring in cultural and creative design at the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts.

At noon on the 26th, a cover news reporter contacted Tan Haoyu. She said that watching the logo she personally designed fly into space, she felt like she was still “in a dream.” “I arrived at the scene two days before the launch. In fact, before I came, I expected that I would be very excited, but when I went to the scene and watched it with the surrounding audience, it was a different feeling. That is the word ‘excited’ Two words can’t describe it.”

Due to a tight schedule, Tan Haoyu can only communicate with reporters by phone. She said that although the sunlight at the Jiuquan launch site was very strong, it still could not stop the enthusiasm of the audience in anticipating the launch of the “Shenzhou 17”.

“Especially the moment the rocket ignited, I could hear the roar of the rocket taking off and the cheers of the surrounding audience.” Tan Haoyu said that at that moment, he felt more deeply the pride of participating in the design, “It was like a huge wave facing us. It rushed forward and instantly drowned out all my thoughts, leaving only the spacecraft at the scene in my mind.”

According to previous reports, on February 15, 2023, the China Manned Space Engineering Office solicited from the public the logos of the three missions of Tianzhou 6, Shenzhou 16, and Shenzhou 17. After Tan Haoyu learned the news, he actively participated in the creative team of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute and designed the Shenzhou 17 mission logo using “symmetrical” composition, highlighting the central focus, and combining the number “17” with the spacecraft tail flame.

In May of this year, Tan Haoyu accepted an exclusive interview with cover news and introduced in detail how she used just 11 days to design the “winning” work.

“Although the whole creation process only lasted 11 days, I used every bit of the creative feeling I accumulated in my life. Therefore, for me, the meaning of ‘ Shenzou 17- ‘ is even more special.” Tan Haoyu said this .

At the end of the call, Tan Haoyu told the cover news that experiencing this design has strengthened his belief in being an excellent designer. “I hope there will be more opportunities in the future to participate in design projects that serve the country.”​​​​

The Shenzhou 17 manned mission logo is the first mission logo publicly solicited from the whole society for the manned space project. It is the only work designed and selected by college students. As the mission is approaching, Tan Haoyu, the designer of the mission logo and a graduate student at Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, is invited to share the design concept and mental journey of the mission logo.

Some feelings Exploring the vast universe has always been the millennium dream of our Chinese nation. I clearly remember the excitement and excitement every time I sat in front of the TV to count down and watch the launch of the spacecraft.

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The mission logos of the Shenzhou 16, Shenzhou 17 manned spacecraft and Tianzhou 6 cargo spacecraft launched this year are the first mission logos in the history of China’s manned space project to be publicly solicited from the whole society. When I saw this solicitation , as a student, I have both expectations and some apprehensions about being able to participate in this activity. At that time, I submitted the manuscript with a learning attitude and asked myself to do my best. The School of Design of Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts gave us great support for our creative submissions and organized a team of instructors to provide in-depth guidance.

​When I learned that the logo I designed was selected, I was very excited and surprised. I felt that my design was recognized. This greatly encouraged me and made me more confident on the road of learning and work hard. Come up with more meaningful designs. I hope my example can encourage more students to actively participate and contribute to the people, society and country!

Logo design concept

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During the design and research phase, I conducted in-depth research on the logos of previous domestic manned space missions and related foreign space mission logos. I gained a systematic understanding of the design style, information transmission, and use of elements of aerospace logos, and clarified the concept of “solemn, vigorous, and vigorous” “Upward” is the main design direction of the Shenzhou 17 manned mission logo.

​In the process of designing the logo of the Shenzhou 17 manned mission, I used “starry sky”, “earth”, “space station” and “spacecraft tail flame” as the main elements in the logo. In order to express the mission and space station configuration characteristics more accurately, with the help of a team of instructors, I systematically sorted out the configuration changes of the space station from construction to completion, and gradually became familiar with the docking relationship between the spacecraft and the space station. In the end, I It can use intuitive graphic language to show the state of the Shenzhou 17 manned spacecraft docking with the forward port of the Tianhe core module of the space station after launch, and forming a three-cabin and three-ship combination.

​I think the biggest design highlight of the Shenzhou 17 manned mission logo is the mission number “17”. After many attempts at expressing the mission number, I finally came up with the design idea of ​​combining the shape of the tail flame of Shenzhou 17 with the mission number “17”. The tail flame of this eruption makes the whole picture show a surging upward trend, which symbolizes the momentum of our country’s aerospace industry being prosperous and vigorously developing.

In my original design of the logo, the number “17” was not in the tail flame of the spacecraft. Instead, “17” is pressed behind the entire space station. Later, my instructor gave me some advice. If “17” was placed at the back, the hierarchy would look confusing and the space station and spacecraft would not be highlighted. So, I adjusted it to make the hierarchy clearer. During the process of many adjustments, I suddenly discovered that this tail flame part seems to be used to highlight the “17”, which will make the layers appear clearer. At the same time, there will also be a visual center point, so that “17” will be more conspicuous.

​In addition, during the preliminary research, I also found that the previous task logo designs were not symmetrical, so I came up with the idea of ​​​​creating based on “symmetry”. The design of “17” and the spacecraft can be combined to present a state of “soaring into the sky”, and some of the stars I drew on both sides of “17” also have the overall effect of “rising up into the sky”. This kind of design is our best blessing to China’s aerospace industry, and also reflects the booming trend of our country’s aerospace industry.

In terms of the color matching of the logo, I will use dark blue representing “space” as the background color, with red representing “China” as the center. The significant color contrast makes the digital tail flame as eye-catching as a torch. Through the combination of blue and red These two colors pay tribute to what I consider the great spirit of manned spaceflight.

How the Shenzhou Seventeen logo was born
 

Let me share with you its evolution based on the works I drew.

On the eve of the launch mission, the China Manned Space Engineering Office will invite Tan Haoyu, the designer of the Shenzhou 17 manned mission logo, to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to watch the launch. At the same time, we welcome more aerospace enthusiasts from all walks of life to actively participate in the subsequent mission logo collection activities. The exciting launch moment is waiting for you to witness!

Images and visuals are from their Respectives CMS China Manned SpaceCNSA-China National Space Administration