Published: 12:15, January 5, 2026
Chinese astronauts complete 1st cave survival training
By Zhao Lei
This screenshot taken at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Nov 7, 2021 shows Chinese taikonaut Zhai Zhigang conducting extravehicular activities (EVAs) out of the space station core module Tianhe. Taikonauts Zhai Zhigang and Wang Yaping have completed their EVAs and returned to the space station core module Tianhe, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said on early hours of Monday. (GUO ZHONGZHENG / XINHUA)

Twenty-eight astronauts recently completed China's first-ever cave survival training, which took place over a one-month period, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

Organized by the Astronaut Center of China in Wulong district, Chongqing municipality, the training featured over 10 activities, including environmental monitoring, cave mapping, simulated communication between astronauts and ground control, and psychological and behavioral exercises, the agency said in a news release on Monday.

Participating astronauts were divided into four groups, each spending six days and five nights in a natural cave where the average temperature was 8 C and humidity reached up to 99 percent.

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The training involved tasks such as cave exploration, scientific research, resource management and daily maintenance. The astronauts navigated extremely narrow passages, climbed and rappelled down cliffs, endured prolonged cold and damp conditions, and faced intense physical challenges. They also had to overcome psychological hurdles like fear of darkness and sensory deprivation, the agency said.

Previously, Chinese astronaut Ye Guangfu participated in a weeklong underground training in Italy organized by the European Space Agency in the summer of 2016.

Taikonaut Liu Wang exits from a re-entry capsule during a wilderness survival training in the Badain Jaran Desert in Northwest China's Gansu province, May 17, 2018. Fifteen Chinese taikonauts have just completed desert survival training deep in the Badain Jaran Desert near Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China. Organized by the Astronaut Center of China (ACC), the program was designed to prepare taikonauts with the capacity to survive in the wilderness in the event their re-entry capsule lands off target. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

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In the future, the Astronaut Center of China plans to continue these rigorous training programs, both for astronauts who have not yet participated and for new recruits, to further enhance the team's ability to adapt to extreme environments and accomplish their tasks, according to the release.