The three astronauts of Shenzhou XIV aboard the Chinese space station held an online talk with young people from ASEAN countries on November 1, 2022.

The event, co-organized by the China-ASEAN Centre and World Knowledge Press, attracted nearly 1,000 youth representatives from China and ASEAN countries.

The talk was held at the main venue in Beijing and branch venues in Brunei, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

A few representatives from the ASEAN countries asked the astronauts questions. They were curious about whether astronauts can use mobile phones and access the internet in space, what they did in case they fell ill, what qualities are needed to become astronauts and so on.

The three astronauts, Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe, took their questions. In reply to the question "What is the most difficult task in space," Liu Yang said he was impressed by the extravehicular activity.

According to Liu Yang, because of the long duty cycle of a single EVA, it takes several days to recover from the initial preparation to the completion of the EVA, and they have to work continuously in space for up to six or seven hours during the EVA, which is a great test for physical and mental strength. However, after the scientific training on the ground, they have successfully completed two missions, and they are confident and capable of completing each subsequent mission.

Astronaut Liu Boming, who flew on the Shenzhou VII and Shenzhou XII missions, shared his unforgettable experiences in space with the youths at the main venue in Beijing.

In recent years, China and ASEAN have carried out close exchanges and cooperation in space technology applications, communication satellites and space mapping, with space becoming a new area of cooperation between the two sides.

Chen Dong expressed his wish that the students' aerospace dreams will come true soon, and he hoped that the friendship and cooperation between China and ASEAN countries will be more fruitful.