The three astronauts from China's Shenzhou-19 crewed mission shared their unique experience of their six-month stay at the space station, when meeting with the press in Beijing on Wednesday, their first public appearance after returning to Earth in April.
All three crew members – Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze - are in good physical and mental health. Their muscle strength, endurance and exercise cardiopulmonary function have basically returned to pre-flight levels.
After completing the work during the recovery period and health recovery assessment, the three astronauts will return to normal training.
"The Shenzhou-19 mission marks the fourth crewed flight since China's space station entered its application and development phase. During our stay in orbit, we successfully conducted three extravehicular activities (EVAs) and completed multiple experimental tests and research projects across various fields, many of which were implemented for the first time in the space station's application and development phase. It's fair to say that the Shenzhou-19 mission is an exceptionally intensive and particularly significant flight," said Cai, commander of the Shenzhou-19 mission.
Song Lingdong, the first Chinese astronaut born after 1990 to carry out EVAs in space, recalled the first spacewalk of their mission. They worked for nine hours on completing multiple tasks, including the installation of space-debris protection devices, setting a new record for the duration of extravehicular activities by Chinese astronauts.
"With the rapid development of China's manned space program, more and more young people, particularly those born in the 1990s, are joining this endeavor and gradually shouldering the mission of our generation. During our extravehicular activity, the mission commander and I executed every operation with precision. I mounted over 100 handrails on the exterior of the station and coordinated with the commander to reach multiple work points. After more than nine hours of spacewalk, we successfully completed the installation of the space-debris protection devices, and the inspections and maintenance of external equipment," Song said.
Wang Haoze, the country's first female space engineer, is mainly responsible for space experiment projects and the management of materials and space station affairs in the Shenzhou-19 mission.
"We executed a total of 88 space science experiments and six payload transfer operations, with about half representing first-of-their-kind tests aboard the space station. These projects have now yielded phased achievements. As a space engineer, I truly understand that the results of scientific research are not easily attained, which makes me treasure every single experiment we conduct," she said.
China launched the Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship on Oct. 30, 2024. The trio returned to Earth on April 30 after 183 days in orbit.
Shenzhou-19 astronauts share experience of 183-day mission in space
