China astronauts Wu Fei, Zhang Lu, and Zhang Hongzhang return after record 7‑month spaceflight

Chinese astronauts Wu Fei, Zhang Lu and Zhang Hongzhang of the Shenzhou‑21 mission landed safely at the Dongfeng landing site in Inner Mongolia’s north‑eastern region on 29 May 2026, emerging from the return capsule of the Shenzhou‑22 spacecraft. The crew completed a nearly seven‑month stay aboard the Tiangong space station, setting a record for the longest on‑orbit duration by a Chinese crew.

During the mission they carried out three spacewalks; Zhang Lu reached a personal total of seven spacewalks, the most for any Chinese astronaut. Wu Fei said after exiting, “Returning to Earth and to the embrace of our motherland, I feel extremely secure and proud.” Zhang Hongzhang reflected, “Looking at Earth from space, I really felt that humanity is an indivisible community with a shared future.” Their handover to the newly arrived Shenzhou‑23 crew prepares China for its goal of a lunar landing by 2030.