China established a space post office

A space post office was established in China to facilitate people to send letters to astronauts.

Mr. Duong Loi Vy (right), the first Chinese to fly into space
in 2003, during the opening of the space post office on November 3. (Photo: Xinhua)

The Shenzhou 8 ship successfully connected to the Thien Cung 1 experiment module on earth orbit on November 2. Shortly thereafter, the Chinese Post Corporation decided to establish a space post in cooperation with officials in the country's manned space program.

AP said that the space post office is located next to the Space Command and Control Center in Beijing, but it also has a virtual office on the Thien Cung module 1. Its postal code is 901001, corresponding to the location. only module on the height of 343km.

The space post office allows people to send letters to Chinese astronauts when they are on the ground and in space. In addition, it sells souvenirs related to major cosmic events. The number of services will increase as China's space exploration activities expand in the future.

Yang Liwei, China's first astronaut to fly into space, will hold the honorary director of the post office space.

Russia established a space post on its space station since the 1970s. Today the post office continues to operate on the International Space Station (ISS). With Russian service, astronauts on the station use ink seals to close letters or postcards. In addition, they can also use the stamp to close memorabilia on the station.