After their six-month orbital journey in the Tiangong space station, the three astronauts of Shenzhou XIV mission shared their experiences and feelings with the public on Friday in the first news conference.
Faced with domestic reporters at the Astronaut Centre of China in Beijing, mission commander Senior Colonel Chen Dong said that every day during their mission was full of work. For example, they were tasked with preparing for and monitoring the arrival of the Wentian and Mengtian lab modules, and making three spacewalks.
Chen recalled the moment he and his teammates—Senior Colonel Liu Yang and Senior Colonel Cai Xuzhe—met their fellow astronauts in the Shenzhou XV flight inside the Tiangong station. "We had paid a lot of attention to news about the Shenzhou XV mission and the crew several days before they set out. When their spacecraft actually launched, we were watching the live broadcast and we were so happy that we kept clapping our hands for a long time. In the hours before their spacecraft arrived at the station, we were supposed to have a sleep but none of us really went to bed. The moment I was about to open the hatch after their spacecraft connected with the space station, I saw them through the window and I waved my hand to welcome them to our home, and theirs," he said.
Liu Yang, the first Chinese woman in space, said the Shenzhou XIV was her second spaceflight and she made a paper "lucky star" each day in the mission. She said she often stared at China when the station flew over the country. "I know that there are numerous females in our nation working hard to pursue their dreams with courage and determination," she said. "I wish that each of us could realize our ambition." Cai Xuzhe, who made his first spaceflight, recalled that eating the vegetables they grew in the space station brought a lot of happiness to the crew, though taking care of the plants was never easy.
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