Most Chinese know the story of Chang'e, the Chinese goddess of the moon. People can't hear the word "Chang'e" without thinking of romantic images of a moon goddess.
For this reason, China's mission to the moon was calling out for a strong female figure. Therefore, a young female space commander (指挥员) is under heated discussion on Chinese social media for her work on the Chang'e-5 Moon exploration program with comments about how she is a "frontline soldier in the field of aerospace" that young Chinese can look up to. Soon her pictures spread quickly on social media.
Ms Zhou, a 24-year-old lady of Tujia ethnic group, is China's youngest ever space commander. She was involved in the successful launch of the Chang'e-5 lunar probe on 24 November, in charge of the rocket connector system, described as a key role.
In Wenchang space launch site, though she is only 1.58 meters and looks "mini", she is called "big sister" for her attitude and energy. Since senior high, she has dreamed of being a member of a space research team. With her great efforts, she was admitted to an aircraft system and engineering major of a domestic university in 2014, making her aerospace dream come true. To grow into a commander, in two and a half years, she changed five positions to be familiar with different posts and types of work, each of which takes great courage and is full of challenges.
Her story has received attention from Chinese state-run media as well as overseas media outlets. However, it has not appeared to have had much of an effect on her. According to the media, she declined repeated requests for interviews because she does not wish to let fame get in the way of her work.
