Shenzhou-21 Astronaut Wu Fei Exits Return Capsule | China Space Station

Shenzhou-21 Astronaut Wu Fei Exits Return Capsule | China Space Station

Chinese astronaut Wu Fei, one of the three crew members of the Shenzhou-21 mission, has emerged from the return capsule of the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft that landed back on Earth on May 29, 2026.

Wu was the second of the crew members to emerge from the capsule after the Shenzhou-22 return capsule touched down at the Dongfeng Landing Site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 20:11 Beijing Time (1211 GMT), according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

"Returning to Earth and to the embrace of our motherland, I feel extremely secure and proud. Being entrusted with such a significant responsibility in my first space mission is a great honor. It is the trust of my country, the guidance of my predecessors, and the teamwork of the entire crew that enabled me to successfully complete the mission. This mission has taught me that the most beautiful posture of youth is to march out for the country. I will turn this space experience into the driving force to keep moving forward and continue to fight and strive for the crewed space program," Wu said in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV) after leaving the spacecraft.

Prior to their return, the crew completed all planned tasks and handed over China's Tiangong Space Station to the three Shenzhou-23 astronauts that boarded the space station on Monday.

The crew's planned stay in-orbit was extended by approximately one month to further verify the technologies regarding the long-term stay of astronauts in orbit and fully use the supplies delivered by the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft in an emergency launch.

The Shenzhou-21 crew's original spacecraft that sent them into space on October 31 last year, previously returned to Earth carrying the astronauts of the preceding Shenzhou-20 mission after tiny cracks were found in the viewport window of the Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft's return capsule. This spacecraft was later safely brought back to Earth.

Video Credit: CCTV
Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: May 30, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Shenzhou22CrewCapsule #Shenzhou21Mission #神舟二十一号 #Shenzhou21 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #LongDurationMissions #WuFei #ZhangLu #ZhangHongzhang #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #InnerMongoliaAutonomousRegion #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video