The
for full physical simulation of orbital rendezvous and docking. It was commissioned for the Chang'e-5 sample return mission. The platform surface is composed of panels of blue granite quarried from Jinan and CNC-machined to be incredibly flat and smooth. Each granite panel is mounted on six hydraulic actuators that automatically keep them level from adjacent panels. Accurate full-scale models of Chang'e-5's orbiter and ascender are then
floated pneumatically over the surface of the platform to simulate docking in a zero-gravity environment. Basically, the full-scale models are kept airborne by blasting pressurized air downward onto the smooth platform.