Shenzhou-21 crew sends Chinese New Year greetings from China Space Station
The crew of China's Shenzhou-21 mission sent Chinese New Year greetings in a video message recorded aboard the China Space Station, CGTN reported.
Mission commander Zhang Lu and astronauts Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang expressed their wishes amid festive decorations marking the festival. This year's celebrations mark the fourth Spring Festival observed in orbit since the space station's completion.
The crew decorated their "space home" with traditional red couplets and the character 福 (fu), symbolizing good fortune. "As the Chinese New Year arrives, I wish everyone success in all things and peace and safety," Zhang Lu said, noting that it's his second Chinese New Year in space.
🥟🥢This year, celebrate alongside the astronauts of Shenzhou XXI and share a special space Chinese New Year’s Eve feast together!
— Chinese Space Station (@CNSpaceStation) February 16, 2026
😋What’s on your family’s Spring Festival dinner table? Drop your dishes in the comments and show us your feast — let’s call out the menu together!… pic.twitter.com/tDbPfnFJuY
For Wu Fei, it is a first. "I wish all those who pursue their dreams peace and smooth journeys, and a life that grows more prosperous by the day," he said. Zhang Hongzhang described celebrating the festival in orbit as "the most precious experience," and added that in the year ahead the team would "continue exploring the cosmos and write a new chapter among the stars."
Since launching on October 31, 2025, the Shenzhou-21 crew's stay in space has exceeded 100 days. According to mission updates, scientific experiments, platform maintenance, equipment servicing, and crew health management have been proceeding smoothly and on schedule.
Earlier, it was reported that a team from Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, carried out the world’s first in-orbit verification of a wireless implantable brain-computer interface (BCI) device. The system was sent into orbit aboard an experimental platform in December. Working in extreme space conditions, the equipment continuously recorded electroencephalogram signals within a simulated body-fluid environment, allowing specialists to obtain crucial information on interference levels and operational durability.
