Astronaut witnesses unprecedented event that continues to unsettle Chinese space history.
In 2003, China made history by joining the exclusive group of nations capable of sending humans into space. During the Shenzhou 5 mission, an astronaut experienced a mysterious metallic sound in space that still remains unexplained to this day.
The flight that opened a chapter and an enigma
On October 15, 2003, China launched the Shenzhou 5 mission, marking the country’s independent manned space journey. The inexplicable sound, likened to “an iron cube being struck with a wooden mallet,” puzzled the astronauts as it seemed to have no physical source.
The physical problem of sound in a vacuum
In a vacuum, sound is not supposed to propagate as it requires a medium like air or solid matter. The strange sound heard by the astronauts challenged basic physics, with no visible signs of impact or damage to the spacecraft’s hull. The mystery of what caused the sound continues to baffle experts.
A phenomenon that repeated itself
The mysterious sound was not a one-time occurrence, as astronauts from subsequent Chinese missions in 2005 and 2008 also reported hearing it. The phenomenon became known as the “phantom knock” and became a regular part of the astronauts’ experience in space. Despite ongoing research and speculation, the origin of this enigmatic sound remains unresolved in the realm of space exploration.
