Cai Xuzhe

Cai Xuzhe (; born May 1976) is a Chinese People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC) taikonaut selected as part of the Shenzhou program.

Biography Cai was born in Shenzhou, Hengshui, Hebei province in 1976. His third uncle was a soldier. His name was revealed as part of Group 2 in 2011.

He was on board the Tiangong space station as part of the Shenzhou 14 mission in 2022, spending 182 days in space. He completed two spacewalks on 17 September and 17 November both with Chen Dong.

He returned to Tiangong on 29 October 2024 as the commander of the Shenzhou 19 mission. Then, on 17 December 2024, during this mission's first EVA, he broke the record with Song Lingdong for the longest spacewalk in human history, of 9 hours and 6 minutes, with the assistance of the space station's robotic arms and ground-based scientific personnel, completed tasks such as the installation of space debris protection devices, inspection, and maintenance of external equipment and facilities. During this mission he completed three spacewalks, for a total of 5 over his career. After spending 6 months in space, he returned to Earth on 30 April 2025.

Personal life Cai married Wang Yanqing , who is a nurse in a PLA military hospital.