BEIJING: China's Shenzhou-21 crew, currently aboard the orbiting Tiangong space station, released a New Year greetings video on Thursday (Jan 2), extending their wishes to people across the nation.
Mission commander Zhang Lu, who became the first Chinese astronaut to celebrate the New Year in space for a second time, expressed that "the strength of our nation is the foundation and assurance of our space journeys." Whenever flying over the homeland and looking down upon its vast landscapes, he is often reminded of the lyrics from a well-known song: "I sing for every mountain, I sing for every river."
Wu Fei, the flight engineer on his first space mission, reported that the crew had recently completed another round of inspections of the space station's facilities. Ensuring the stable operation of their "home in orbit" is both their duty and a solemn commitment to the nation and its people.
Payload specialist Zhang Hongzhang shared his New Year wishes from space for the first time, saying, "May everyone have a joyful New Year and see all their dreams come true."
On Oct. 31, 2025, the Shenzhou-21 manned spacecraft was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Following this, the Shenzhou-21 and Shenzhou-20 crews carried out China's seventh in-orbit handover. On Dec. 9, the Shenzhou-21 crew completed their mission's first series of extravehicular activities.
As the new year begins, the Shenzhou-21 crew plans to conduct additional extravehicular activities with both astronauts and experimental payloads, along with a series of scientific experiments and technical tests. - Xinhua
