Crew members for the Shenzhou-19 manned spaceflight mission are fully prepared and confident in fulfilling the tasks, said mission commander Cai Xuzhe at a press conference on Tuesday.
The Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 04:27 Wednesday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, according to the China Manned Space Agency.
According to the agency, Cai, along with astronauts Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, will carry out the mission.
Cai, 48, is a Senior Colonel and was selected to join the second batch of Chinese astronauts in 2010.
Cai's first journey into space was as a crew member of the Shenzhou-14 mission in 2022. He was honored with the title "Heroic Astronaut" for his service and accomplishments in that mission.
"After a new round of comprehensive and systematic training, we are now fully prepared in terms of our mental readiness, technical skills, physical fitness and psychological state. We are confident, determined, and fully capable of completing this mission," said Cai.
According to Cai, the Shenzhou-19 crew has undergone comprehensive training to prepare for the extravehicular activities planned for this mission.
"The Shenzhou-19 mission will include multiple extravehicular activities. We have conducted extensive training on the ground, making every effort to anticipate all possible scenarios. We have thoroughly analyzed the valuable experience of previous extravehicular missions, so as to ensure that all the plans are well-prepared and effectively practiced," he said.
Cai expressed confidence that the Shenzhou-19 crew will work together to accomplish the mission, despite the age differences among them.
Song and Wang, among the third batch of Chinese astronauts, are newcomers to space. Both of them were born in the 1990s.
"My two new teammates were both born in the 1990s. Although there is an age difference between us, we share the same goal: to serve our country and win honor for it while working and striving together," Cai said.
The Shenzhou-19 astronauts will complete in-orbit rotation with the Shenzhou-18 trio and stay at the space station for approximately six months, witnessing the arrival of the Tianzhou-8 cargo craft and Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceship during the mission.
China's Shenzhou-19 crew fully prepared, confident in fulfilling tasks: commander
China's Shenzhou-19 crew fully prepared, confident in fulfilling tasks: commander
Chinese and foreign scientists have jointly carried out a series of exchange and investigation activities this week to respond to the United Nations' initiative on glacier preservation.
The United Nations declared 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation, accompanied by the proclamation of the 21st March of each year as the World Day for Glaciers starting in 2025.
A public advocacy and glacier investigation activity with the initiative of "Let the Glacier Cool" was launched at Dagu Glacier scenic area in southwest China's Sichuan Province, a key place in global glacier preservation, from Monday to Tuesday.
In 2024, the Global Glacier Loss List (GGCL) project was jointly launched by Rice University, the University of Iceland, the Icelandic Glaciological Society, the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The project tracks recently disappeared, almost disappeared, and critically endangered glaciers worldwide. Among them, the Dagu Glacier is the only glacier in China on the list.
In this regard, Chinese and foreign glacier experts and scholars conducted in-depth investigations into the changes in Dagu Glacier during the event.
"Let China's voice be heard in the 2025 International Year of Glaciers' Preservation, World Day for Glaciers, and the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences. We need to awaken people's awareness of glacier changes, and everyone can reduce emissions and live a green life to slow down global warming, so that we can prolong the life of glaciers," said Li Zhongqin, a researcher at the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources (NIEER) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
Meanwhile, the Dagu Glacier International Academic Summit Forum was held in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, from Sunday to Tuesday.
The forum was jointly organized by the NIEER, the Center for Glacier Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, the Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment (IMHE) under the CAS, and the Sichuan Dagu Glacier Administration Bureau.
More than 100 glaciologists, climate policy experts and representatives of international organizations from more than 10 countries including China, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, the United States and the United Kingdom, attended the conference online and offline, and had in-depth dialogues on the scientific challenges and international cooperation in global glacier protection.
"Because of global warming, glaciers around the world are generally melting. For example, the latest research data released last month showed that the annual loss of global glaciers, if converted into water equivalent, is 273 billion tons. The public can clearly see that the glaciers are shrinking rapidly and disappearing rapidly," said Kang Shichang, director of the IMHE.
Global experts gather in Sichuan to respond to UN glacier initiative
