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Shenzhou 21

retired
Human SpaceflightLEOCOSPAR 2025-246ALaunched 10/31/2025
Admin Edit
Mission & Launch
Launch Mission
Shenzhou 21 Mission
Launch Vehicle
Long March 2F G
Launch Date
10/31/2025
Last Contact
11/14/2025
Orbit & Mass
Orbit Class
LEO
Altitude
387.5 km
Inclination
41.47 deg
Dry Mass
3,258 kg
Total Mass
8,100 kg
Payload Classification
Mission Type
Human Spaceflight
Payload Category
SS
Payload Class
C
Organizations
Operator
China Manned Space Agency (CMSA)
Manufacturer
China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT)
Registry
COSPAR ID
2025-246A
Track
Mentions
345
All verified mentions of this spacecraft in source documents.
0.0-5.0
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The Shenzhou-21 crew replaced experimental samples in materials science experiments.

GeneralCapabilityValue 2.4Mar 16, 2026Shenzhou-21 Taikonauts Perform Second Spacewalk, Harvest Space Tomatoes [SZ-21 EVA-2]

The Shenzhou-21 crew underwent fingerstick blood tests, and the resulting data helps ground personnel monitor their health.

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CapabilityGeneralValue 3.2Mar 16, 2026Shenzhou-21 Taikonauts Perform Second Spacewalk, Harvest Space Tomatoes [SZ-21 EVA-2]

China’s human spaceflight agency said Shenzhou-21 astronauts Zhang Lu and Wu Fei completed a 7-hour extravehicular activity at 1135 UTC on March 16, 2026.

GeneralCapabilityValue 4.0Mar 16, 2026Didn't see the usual day-or-two-before heads-up for this, but China's human spaceflight agency announced Shenzhou-21 astronauts Zhang Lu & Wu Fei completed a 7-hour EVA at 1135 UTC today. The usual installation of debris protection devices among the tasks.

The Shenzhou-21 crew maintained the motors of the sample handling mechanism.

CapabilityValue 2.6Mar 16, 2026Shenzhou-21 Taikonauts Perform Second Spacewalk, Harvest Space Tomatoes [SZ-21 EVA-2]

The Shenzhou-21 crew installed debris protection devices on the China Space Station with robotic arm and ground support.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.2Mar 16, 2026I can’t believe this almost got buried on several other Chinese spaceflight news that I saw after sleeping out on the night. EVA “ended after ~7 hours at 11:35 UTC” BTW, and I wonder how many more EVAs would be needed before all the CSS’ extra MMOD shields got installed…

Shenzhou-21 crew changed experimental samples in the fluid physics experiment cabinet according to the experiment schedule.

CapabilityPlanValue 3.5Mar 9, 2026Shenzhou-21 Crew Resume Space Science Work Following Spring Festival

The Shenzhou-21 crew used a space Raman spectrometer to detect metabolic components in urine samples for development of a characteristic metabolite indicator system and evaluation criteria.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Mar 9, 2026Shenzhou-21 Crew Resume Space Science Work Following Spring Festival

Shenzhou-21 crew members replaced the sampling cover of the combustion science experiment cabinet as part of microgravity physics work.

CapabilityGeneralValue 3.5Mar 9, 2026Shenzhou-21 Crew Resume Space Science Work Following Spring Festival

Shenzhou-21 taikonauts utilized electroencephalography equipment to gather data for experiments on metacognitive monitoring, deep cognition, and emotional analysis and regulation.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Mar 9, 2026Shenzhou-21 Crew Resume Space Science Work Following Spring Festival

Shenzhou-21 crew conducted regular inspections of the Tiangong Space Station platform and completed environmental monitoring tasks including emergency point testing, temperature measurement, and wind speed measurement.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Mar 9, 2026Shenzhou-21 Crew Resume Space Science Work Following Spring Festival

Shenzhou-21 crew evacuated waste gases from experiment hardware as part of microgravity physics tasks.

CapabilityGeneralValue 3.0Mar 9, 2026Shenzhou-21 Crew Resume Space Science Work Following Spring Festival

Shenzhou-21 taikonauts underwent multiple medical examinations including blood pressure and venous checks, body composition measurements, and exercise-induced cardiopulmonary function tests.

CapabilityGeneralValue 2.5Mar 9, 2026Shenzhou-21 Crew Resume Space Science Work Following Spring Festival

Shenzhou-21 taikonauts Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, and Zhang Hongzhang returned to supporting science experiments onboard the Tiangong Space Station after a short Spring Festival break in mid-February.

GeneralCapabilityValue 3.4Mar 9, 2026Shenzhou-21 Crew Resume Space Science Work Following Spring Festival

Zhang Hongzhang is the Payload Expert for Shenzhou-21 and this mission is his first trip to space.

GovernanceValue 2.2Mar 9, 2026Shenzhou-21 Crew Resume Space Science Work Following Spring Festival

Wu Fei is the Flight Engineer for Shenzhou-21 and this mission is his first trip into space.

GovernanceValue 2.4Mar 9, 2026Shenzhou-21 Crew Resume Space Science Work Following Spring Festival

Shenzhou-21 taikonauts used laptops and experimental software to complete tests for projects including trust and coordination mechanisms, human-machine trust in space, and microgravity intuitive physical behavior experiments.

CapabilityGeneralValue 3.5Mar 9, 2026Shenzhou-21 Crew Resume Space Science Work Following Spring Festival

Zhang Lu is the Commander and Pilot of Shenzhou-21 and this mission is his second spaceflight.

GovernanceValue 2.8Mar 9, 2026Shenzhou-21 Crew Resume Space Science Work Following Spring Festival

The Shenzhou-21 crew used a traditional Chinese medicine diagnostic instrument to collect health data for ground-based researchers.

CapabilityValue 3.2Mar 9, 2026Shenzhou-21 Crew Resume Space Science Work Following Spring Festival

Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, and Zhang Hongzhang were onboard the Tiangong Space Station as the Shenzhou-21 crew.

GeneralValue 4.0Feb 17, 2026Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, Zhang Hongzhang Celebrate Chinese New Year in Space!

The Tiangong Space Station’s hot air oven (air fryer) baked a batch of cakes for the Shenzhou-21 crew.

CapabilityGeneralValue 3.5Feb 17, 2026Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, Zhang Hongzhang Celebrate Chinese New Year in Space!