The astronauts decorated the orbiting space station, which is approximately 400 kilometres above Earth, with red tassels and Chinese knots.
In a video released on New Year’s Eve by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), Shenzhou-15 astronauts Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming, and Zhang Lu sent their Spring Festival greetings from China’s Tiangong space station.
The trio sent spring festival greetings by wearing blue jumpsuits with dark red patterns, and each carried a sticker with their own calligraphy. Two of the stickers were written with the Chinese character “fu,” which means “good luck,” and the other was written with Tiangong’s good luck wishes.
“Wearing new clothes, eating dumplings, and sending blessings—the festive customs and atmosphere are the same here,” Zhang explained.
The astronauts decorated the orbiting space station, which is approximately 400 kilometres above Earth, with red tassels and Chinese knots.
“I believe that, at the moment, many people are sticking to their work posts just like us, which is also a kind of happiness,” Deng said, adding that each individual’s dreams and efforts can converge into a powerful force to promote the country’s modernization drive.
The commander, Fei, wished the country and its people peace and prosperity.
In another video released by the CMSA on Saturday, the astronauts displayed 40 paintings by children in a “space painting exhibition” as a New Year’s gift to all Chinese people.
The paintings, which were launched alongside the Shenzhou-15 mission on November 29 of last year, depicted the children’s impressions and expectations of the country’s rapid development, diverse cultural traditions, and daring space exploration.
The Shenzhou-15 mission completes the final stage of space station construction and begins the first stage of application and development.
During their six-month stay in orbit, the Shenzhou-15 crew will conduct over 40 experiments and tests in the fields of space science research and application, space medicine, and space technology, as well as three to four extravehicular activities.
Shenzhou-15 was a Chinese manned spaceflight mission that was launched on November 29, 2021. It was the first manned spacecraft to be launched by China since 2016, and the first to be launched from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site.