Commander Zhu Yangzhu of the upcoming Shenzhou-23 manned spaceflight mission pledged to lead his team to complete the mission with "zero error and zero mistake" in a meeting with the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Saturday. The Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship is scheduled to blast off at 23:08 on Sunday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced earlier on Saturday.
Along with crew members Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying, Zhu shared his expectations for the mission, acknowledging the challenges while stressing teamwork.
"As commander, what weighs in my mind the most is how to get everything well ready and how to lead the team to complete the flight mission with 'zero error and zero mistake,'" he said.
Zhu, a flight engineer who previously flew on the Shenzhou-16 mission, noted that China’s manned space program has made tremendous progress over the years.
"China's manned space program has come all the way from one person for one day to multiple crew members for multiple days, and now to an upcoming one-year in-orbit stay. All these ever‑new 'firsts' have strung together one after another milestones of breakthroughs in China's space endeavor. It is precisely because of the rapid development of our manned space program that successive teams of us astronauts have been able to relay in space and realize our dreams," Zhu said.
Among the crew members, Zhang and Lai come from the third and fourth batches of astronauts respectively, and will embark on their first spaceflight mission. Before being selected, Zhang was an air force pilot, and Lai worked in the Hong Kong Police Force.
"On this mission, astronauts from our third and fourth batches will appear in space together. Notably, our Hong Kong compatriot will fly for the 'first time,' sharing the glory of space exploration. This is a vivid embodiment of devotion to our nation and forms a 'concentric circle' of the Chinese Dream and the space dream, bringing us together across different backgrounds and uniting our personal aspirations into the common goal of serving the country," Zhu said.
Commander vows "zero error" for Shenzhou-23 mission
Commander vows "zero error" for Shenzhou-23 mission
Heavy rains continued to hit central and southern China on Friday, causing multiple rivers to swell beyond warning levels and prompting rescue efforts to save stranded residents.
Shimen County in central China's Hunan Province has entered a critical period for flood control following days of persistent downpours. With a high risk of secondary disasters such as mountain torrents, landslides, and mudslides, local authorities have transferred all trapped residents to safety and imposed traffic controls on affected roads.
Torrential rains also triggered flooding across south China's Guangdong Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and east China's Jiangxi Province. From Thursday to Friday, 15 rivers exceeded warning levels, with the highest water level reaching 1.51 meters above the warning line. Most of these waterways have now receded below their alert levels.
Fangchenggang City, Guangxi, saw the sudden onslaught of continuous heavy rain, which caused severe urban waterlogging across multiple regions. Rising river waters trapped 15 residents in Baisha Village of Gangkou District. Local fire rescue teams rushed to the scene immediately and successfully evacuated all the trapped people in batches to safe areas.
In Yangjiang City, Guangdong Province, the Moyang River experienced its second flood peak on Friday morning, hitting 6.82 meters, which was 0.02 meters above the warning level. By Friday noon, the water level had dropped to 6.7 meters. Large and medium-sized reservoirs in Yangjiang have cumulatively intercepted over 100 million cubic meters of floodwater, easing flood control pressure downstream.
The widespread rainfall has also extended to parts of east and north China.
On Friday, heavy to torrential rains hit parts of east China's Anhui, Jiangxi, central China's Hunan, Hubei and southwest China's Sichuan provinces, with extremely heavy rain recorded in some areas of Xiangtan and Changsha in Hunan Province.
According to China's National Meteorological Center (NMC), a new round of heavy rainfall will also start to develop from northwest China's Shaanxi, central China's Henan and Hubei provinces on Saturday.
The NMC continued to issue a blue rainstorm alert on Saturday, marking the 12th consecutive day of rainstorm warnings since May 12.
Flood rescue operations intensify as heavy rain hits multiple regions in China
