As you can probably imagine, going to space is as frightening as it is exciting.
The whole cliché of 'in space, no one can hear you scream' is a little over dramatic, but it is true in equal measures. That, paired with the mysterious noises that occur while alone in the deep, deep void, could probably lead a man to insanity.
China's first astronaut, Yang Liwei, has spoken about the worries he had on his maiden voyage while alone in his capsule.
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Yang was sent to space in 2003 on a 21-hour mission, but in a recent interview he revealed how nervous he was after hearing strange noises on board the Shenzhen 5 spaceship.
"A non-causalsituation I have met in space is a knock that appeared from time to time," he told Xinhua. Only an astronaut could get away with using the word 'non-causalsituation'.
"It neither came from outside nor inside the spaceship, but sounded like someone is knocking the body of the spaceship just as knocking an iron bucket with a wooden hammer."
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Although the noise understandably left Yang uncomfortable, he tried to work out where it was coming from but was unable to do so. Upon his return into earth's atmosphere he could no longer hear the noise on the shuttle. However, he tried his best to recreate it to see if technicians would recognise it.
Other astronauts aboard the Shenzhou 6 and Shenzhou 7 have also reported similar noises, but it's yet to be discovered exactly what it is.
Featured image credit: PA
Featured Image Credit:Topics: space