Feature: Wives of Chinese astronauts expect reunion in pride, anxiety

The video grab taken at the Beijing Space Command and  Control Center on Sept. 27, 2008 shows Chinese taikonauts  (L-R) Jing Haipeng, Zhai Zhigang and Liu Boming talk on  the spacecraft Shenzhou-7 with Chinese President Hu Jintao  who is in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 27, 2008. (Xinhua Photo/Chen Jianli)

Zhang Ping was a bit surprised to find her husband Jing Haipeng "look younger in space than on earth". She noticed every detail of Jing's work in space. "He read the manual attentively, sometimes scratching something on it with the pencil. They did an excellent job."

Like the three astronauts, who are all 42 years old, their wives have much in common: all are surnamed Zhang, while two of them are from the same hometown with the same birthday.

While exuding pride for their loved ones, the wives have gone through jitters and anxiety.

"I was so nervous when they opened the hatch door (before the extra-vehicular activity) that my hands sweat," said Zhang Shujing. "I lost 3 kg of weight in the past two weeks, but I have more trust in them than worries."

"One day they spent in the sky was like a decade for me on the ground," said Zhang Ping, adding she felt more relaxed after the conversation.

The Shenzhou-7 spacecraft took off from northwest China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 9:10 p.m. on Thursday, and is scheduled to land on the Inner Mongolia steppe at about 5:40 p.m. on Sunday.

The astronauts have to be quarantined for about half a month after the landing, said Zhang Shujing. "We can't see them during that period, but we can rest our hearts as long as they are on the earth."

　Interactive:  Be part of China's journey to space!

Editor:Du Xiaodan