Three astronauts from the historic Shenzhou-16 mission have been awarded prestigious medals in recognition of their exceptional contributions to China's space endeavors.
Jing Haipeng was honored with a special-class aerospace achievement medal, highlighting his remarkable service as he carried out four crewed space missions, three of which he led as mission commander. Jing stands as the Chinese astronaut with the most crewed missions to date.
Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao received third-class aerospace achievement medals along with the honorary title of \"Heroic Astronaut.\" Zhu is celebrated as China's first spaceflight engineer to conduct both a crewed space mission and extravehicular activities. Meanwhile, Gui holds the distinction of being China's first payload expert to participate in a crewed mission.
The awards were presented by the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the State Council, and the Central Military Commission, underscoring the nation's commitment to advancing its space program.
The Shenzhou-16 mission, launched on May 30, 2023, deployed the spacecraft to China's space station core module, Tianhe. Over five months, the trio lived and worked aboard, performing extravehicular activities, delivering a live class from the space station, and conducting various space science and in-orbit payload experiments.
The astronauts safely returned to Earth on October 31, 2023. This mission marks the first crewed expedition in the application and development phase of China's space station and is notable for being the inaugural mission where three different types of astronauts—pilot, flight engineer, and payload expert—worked together.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
