Bios of Shenzhou XXI mission crew

Senior Colonel Zhang Lu, 49, a native of Hunan province, joined the PLA Air Force in August 1996. He has a master's degree.

He was an elite fighter jet pilot at an Air Force training base before being selected as one of the seven second-generation astronauts in May 2010.

As a crew member, Zhang participated in the six-month Shenzhou XV mission that began in November 2022, and was later bestowed the honorary title of "Heroic Astronaut" and awarded a Third-grade Space Service Medal for his outstanding performance in that spaceflight.

He is now a first-grade astronaut of the PLA Astronaut Division and commander of the Shenzhou XXI flight mission.