Sky-high ambition to fulfill an "unreachable" dream
1 It's important in life to have dreams. Whether these are dreams for your future, your family's future, or for the future of your country, having dreams can give people the motivation to succeed and make the world a better place.
2 When talking about dreams, many people naturally think back to their childhood dreams, which may have been destroyed by the passing of time. However, there are some who are persistent in pursuing their dreams. One of these people was Nan Rendong, the chief scientist for the world's largest radio telescope, FAST. He fell in love with the universe when he was a boy and spent more than two decades trying to fulfill a dream that many described as "unreachable".
3 Nan was working as a visiting professor at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan in the early 1990s when a bold idea came to him. This was to build a radio telescope 500 meters in diameter to explore the origins of the universe. At the time, the biggest such telescope in China was less than 30 meters across. Giving up his well-paid position at one of the world's top scientific research institutes in Japan, Nan returned to China in 1994 to pursue his "unreachable" dream.
4 The first challenge Nan and his team had was to find the right location. After 12 years of searching, Nan discovered the perfect place hidden away in a mountainous area of Pingtang County, Guizhou Province. He knew immediately that he had finally found what he was looking for.
5 In March 2011, construction of the giant telescope began. As the chief scientist and engineer, Nan had to deal with some tough engineering problems. He had to climb up and down 100-meter-tall towers countless times and assess the firmness of the subsoil with his own feet.
6 From calculating the necessary length of each cable to the precise installation of the reflective panels, Nan personally took care of many technical details. Most of the scientists working on FAST specialized in different fields, but Nan seemed to know everything. This giant, complicated radio telescope project seemed to be made for him.
7 The construction of the telescope's dome was another challenge Nan had to take on. His team had no reference points to turn to, and no one to ask for help. Nan himself always led his team during the construction process, overcoming one failure after another.
8 When Nan was 70, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. Although his health was getting worse, he insisted on being present and on site to see the telescope being completed on September 25, 2016. One year later, he died.
9 FAST can receive electromagnetic signals from 10 billion light years away, and with it Nan had hoped to discover the origins of the universe, the origins of planets, and the origins of life. Nan believed the primary reason that humans stood out and were able to become such a complex and sophisticated civilization was that we had always kept alive the spirit of exploring the unknown.
10 Nan rendong lived a simple life, with little concern for reputation or wealth. But as a dream-chaser, he thought big and ran at full speed toward achieving his "unreachable" dream. In the end, his career and personal success made an extraordinary contribution not just to China's astronomy research, but to the Chinese Dream as well.
