China Just Put Its Astronauts Through Cave Boot Camp

Chinese astronauts have completed an intensive underground training program designed to prepare them for future deep-space missions, including planned trips to the moon. Over the past month, 28 members of China’s astronaut corps rotated through cold, damp caves in the mountainous Chongqing region, spending six days and five nights at a time in near-total isolation.

According to SpaceNews, the cave training was intended to simulate the psychological and physical challenges of deep-space travel, such as confinement, disorientation, limited communication, and teamwork under stress. The program was announced Monday to mark the 28th anniversary of China’s astronaut corps.

While officials did not disclose the exact cave system used, astronauts conducted environmental monitoring, cave mapping, simulated space-to-Earth communications, and team psychology exercises once underground. Trainers also introduced unexpected medical evacuation scenarios to test emergency response and group dynamics. The collected data will help refine psychological support systems for long-duration missions aboard China’s Tiangong space station and for future lunar expeditions, Jiang Yuan of the China Astronaut Research and Training Center said on state television. Each training cycle also included two days of jungle survival exercises.

The program mirrors Europe’s CAVES training initiative, which some Chinese astronauts have previously joined. Veteran astronaut Ye Guangfu, who participated in the European program in 2016 and now helps oversee China’s version, said support teams deliberately stayed hands-off to encourage independent decision-making. Astronaut Zhu Yangzhu described the dark, sealed, and wet cave environment as an effective stand-in for the isolation and uncertainty of deep-space missions. “It was so dark that I couldn’t see my own hands in front of my face,” astronaut Tang Hongbo told the Xinhua News Agency.

The training comes as China accelerates plans to land two astronauts on the moon before 2030, using its Long March 10 rocket, Mengzhou crew spacecraft, and Lanyue lunar lander. China is also working toward a joint International Lunar Research Station in the 2030s, while NASA prepares for its own Artemis missions later this decade.

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