Engineer to astronaut: Wu Fei on little-known story behind Shenzhou-20's safe return

Astronaut Wu Fei, a member of the Shenzhou-21 crew, has shared his journey from spacecraft engineer to astronaut — and the little-known story of how the cracked Shenzhou-20 return capsule was brought safely home.

Wu was born in 1993 in Baotou, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. In 2010, he was admitted to Beihang University in Beijing, where he majored in aircraft design.

After completing his master's degree, he became an engineer at the China Academy of Space Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. There, his work focused on thermal testing for spacecraft.

In May 2018, China began selecting its third group of astronauts, adding two new categories of astronauts: space engineers and payload specialists. Wu applied without hesitation.

In September 2020, he was recruited as an astronaut.

"When we first received training, we actually encountered many problems, including the transition from experts in our own field to acquiring a broad breadth of knowledge. While we have our own role, becoming astronauts still requires us to understand all the systems," Wu said.

From an engineer to an astronaut, Wu had to overcome more difficulties than expected. At first, he was kind of acting rashly, but later he found that could get him nowhere.

"I told myself to see the pattern and then establish a scientific training method. my commander (Zhang Lu) has spent more than 10 years tempering himself to carry out the task, and he is willing to share with us the precious experience he has accumulated. We should make good use of this resource — our inheritance: how to learn from his experience, and how to stand on the shoulders of giants to do more sophisticated exploration and complete our tasks better," Wu said.

Wu has worked to verify the thermal control systems for the Tianhe core module and the Wentian lab module of China's space station, and said that he would find operating the spacecraft he had helped test and develop to be "very meaningful."

"As a space engineer, I paid more attention to the parameters of the whole instrument when I was on duty to maintain the operation of the whole space station, because my duty was to monitor these parameters before going to space. When I am in orbit, I finally have the opportunity to see its actual operating state, so I would often go to see the parameters and find out how each system works," Wu said.

Three extravehicular activities also gave him the opportunity to observe the Earth and space from a different perspective.

"I was a little nervous when I saw the whole Earth for the first time as I opened the cabin door. That perspective is hard to describe — I was standing in a very high place, looking down, with nothing in between," Wu said.

He said it was very striking to see the Earth from a distance, set against the backdrop of space, for the first time.

"Knowing our achievements we have made in science and technology have reached beyond the atmosphere when I see a space station full of science and technology right in front of me — that is a very exciting feeling," Wu said.

China launched the Shenzhou-22 spaceship from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 12:11 (Beijing Time) on Nov 25, 2025, successfully accomplishing the first emergency launch mission in the country's manned space program.

The spaceship, flying without a crew aboard, carried a cargo of space food, medical supplies, fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as devices for treating the cracked window on the Shenzhou-20 spaceship.

The return mission of sending the three Shenzhou-20 astronauts back to Earth, initially scheduled on Nov 5, 2025 by the Shenzhou-20 spaceship, was delayed following a suspected debris impact.

"After the crack occurred in the porthole of the Shenzhou-20 spaceship, whether it could withstand the high temperature and pressure during the entire return process was something that the staff on Earth couldn't accurately judge from a distance. As for the porthole structure itself, we can't remove it, because it becomes a vacuum when removed. But the measure we can take is to protect it. We reinforced it inside the cabin. It is inevitable that similar problems may happen in follow-up tasks. How can we judge to what extent it is reliable or unreliable? (Sending the spaceship back) provides the experts on Earth with such an opportunity to research," Wu said.

The return capsule of the Shenzhou-20 spaceship, carrying no astronauts, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at on Jan 19, 2026. On-site inspections confirmed that the return capsule's overall appearance was normal and that items inside were in good condition.

Wu said before the Shenzhou-20 spaceship touched down on Earth, he was more concerned about the reinforcement work.

"What we are more worried about is whether our reinforcement work is done well enough to achieve the expected effect and bring this precious research opportunity back to the Earth completely," he said.

Engineer to astronaut: Wu Fei on little-known story behind Shenzhou-20's safe return

Zhang Hongzhang, a 40-year-old researcher turned astronaut, became China’s second payload expert to reach space aboard Shenzhou-21 on October 31, 2025. He conducted groundbreaking studies on lithium-ion batteries for space applications and looks forward to further experimental projects in space again.

He recently shared his experiences in space, insights into his selection, and future expectation during an interview with China Central Television (CCTV) in Beijing.

As one of four payload specialists in China's third batch of astronauts, Zhang and his crew spent 210 days in orbit, from their launch on October 31, 2025, to their return on May 29, 2026, setting a new record for the longest single crew stay by Chinese astronauts.

During their mission, they completed three spacewalks and conducted extensive space science experiments, notably witnessing and participating in the first-ever in-orbit emergency rescue operation in the history of China's manned space program.

Before joining the astronaut corps, Zhang was a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), focusing on key materials and technologies for large-scale energy storage batteries. The study on lithium-ion battery electrochemistry for space applications was developed collaboratively by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, CAS, and the China Astronaut Research and Training Center.

During his mission, Zhang performed in-situ optical observations of lithium-ion batteries under microgravity conditions, capturing full-process images of lithium dendrite growth and adjusting experimental procedures, monitoring experimental conditions in real time, and identifying and recording key scientific phenomena.

"The purpose of this experiment is, first, to verify my experimental equipment — the first time an electrochemical experiment has been conducted in orbit — and that it can proceed smoothly. Second, I hope to be able to observe in orbit the experimental phenomena I want to observe and obtain the data I can get. After analyzing the experimental data, we can then improve the battery's performance, and after improvement, conduct another verification on the space station. This may form a complete closed loop. At present, this is still the first step. If we can analyze this problem clearly, it will serve as a very good reference for other batteries beyond lithium-ion batteries," he said.

Zhang considers himself fortunate to have pursued new energy and energy storage.

"Because this direction is very important for the future of our Earth. We need to reduce uncontrolled carbon dioxide emissions, reduce the greenhouse effect, and reduce the consumption of fossil fuels. Because these fossil fuels, including coal, oil, and natural gas, cannot have unlimited reserves on Earth. So we develop new energy and green energy. I think choosing this direction back then was indeed fortunate," he said.

Zhang graduated from the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Shandong University. In 2018, at age 32, he had begun to stand out in scientific research, leading multiple major projects. That same year, China opened the astronaut selection process to researchers and engineering technicians for the first time, and Zhang signed up.

In September 2020, Zhang became one of China's third batch of astronauts. After a comprehensive evaluation, he was selected for the Shenzhou-21 flight mission. This marked the second time China assigned a crew composed of spacecraft pilots, flight engineers, and payload experts to carry out a mission.

"Because I had been engaged in research work at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics for more than 10 years, I am very familiar with and understand what ground-based researchers want to obtain through these experiments, what they care about, and what they may not notice.I may be able to assist with these experiments, ensuring their smooth completion while potentially yielding additional unexpected results and better solving some issues that may arise beyond the initial plan," he said.

Reflecting on his time in space, Zhang said: "One overarching impression is that space is immensely profound. People — including every one of us — and the even Earth seems very small. Indeed, Reflecting on my extended time in space, it truly feels as if it all happened in a dream."

Zhang also expressed his desire to return to space again.

"I look forward to it. I also hope there can be more experimental projects, and that more scientists can conduct experiments in orbit, or at least send their experiments to the space station, so that in this unique environment, we can make greater contributions to exploring and utilizing space," he said.

China's second payload specialist eyes further space experiments months after return