Tough training makes real astronauts

A series of photos were released to salute Chinese space heroes that show they train for the special conditions that they will be confronted with during launch, in space, and during landing.

Becoming an astronaut doesn’t happen overnight. Each astronaut candidate must go through years of education and “hell-like” training before they are qualified and to ensure personal safety and successful missions.

Over 140 training exercises are prepared for the astronaut candidates, including how to adapt to a new gravity environment, prepare for missions, and survive in the wild.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Astronaut Team of the People’s Liberation Army, hailed as a “heroic unit.” The team has sent over 11 astronauts to the space with six successful manned space flights on the self-developed Shenzhou spacecraft.

Pan Zhanchun, Fei Junlong, Zhai Zhigang, and Liu Wang train for weightlessness in an aircraft in Russia in 1999. Photo: cctv.com

Astronauts undergo parachute training in central China’s Hubei province in 2001. Photo: cctv.com

Astronauts learn how to regulate blood pressure in 2002. Photo: cctv.com

China’s first astronaut Yang Liwei performs a climb training activity at the team’s training base in 2003. Photo: cctv.com

Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng, two astronauts on the Shenzhou-6 spacecraft, undergo survival training in 2004. Photo: cctv.com

Zhai Zhigang, Jing Haipeng, and Liu Boming prepare for mission operations in a simulator in 2008. Photo: cctv.com

Female astronaut Liu Yang was trained in a swivel chair in 2011. Photo: cctv.com