China completes its first astronaut cave-training mission
China's first astronaut cave-training mission has been completed in its southwestern Chongqing Municipality, with 28 astronauts having taken part, Xinhua reported.
Organized and led by the China Astronaut Research and Training Center (CARTC), the nearly month-long training mission covered more than 10 subjects, including environmental monitoring, cave mapping, simulated space-to-ground communications, and team-focused psychological training.
The astronauts were divided into four teams, each spending six days and five nights in a natural cave where the average temperature hovered at eight degrees Celsius, and humidity reached 99 percent. They were required to conduct cave exploration, scientific research, logistics management, and life-support operations. Along the way they squeezed through ultra-narrow passages, rappelled down sheer walls, endured prolonged cold and dampness, and pushed their physical limits.
Additionally, they had to conquer the mental pressure stemming from absolute darkness and sensory deprivation.
"The training was designed to sharpen astronauts' capabilities in hazard response, autonomous operation, teamwork, emergency decision making and scientific survey, as well as to improve physical endurance and mental toughness in extreme environments," said Wu Bin from the CARTC. "It was also a comprehensive evaluation for them."
The training therefore offers high scientific value for studying and intervening in astronauts' psychological responses under truly extreme conditions.
It forges the full spectrum of skills needed to operate in a truly extreme environment, he explained, and will strongly support longer space station missions and future crewed lunar flights.
To find a venue that replicates the extremes of space, researchers of the CARTC since 2016 scouted more than 10 caves across seven provincial-level regions, including Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Anhui and Chongqing. Rating each based on the training challenge, geological stability and basic life-safety, they selected the cave deep in the mountains of Wulong District, Chongqing.
The CARTC will run the same cave-training mission for astronauts who have not yet taken part, as well as for all new recruits.
Earlier, it was reported that China had carried out a record 92 space launches in 2025, marking a historic high as the country achieved multiple breakthroughs in crewed spaceflight, deep-space exploration, and commercial space activities.
