No space for China's stay-at-home taikonauts

"DON'T GIVE UP!"

"Be it a crew or backup, it is our job," Chen Quan told Deng on the retirement ceremony. "Don't give up!"

"Being backup doesn't mean you don't need to work. I must watch over closely in the control center and offer all I know about the mission and the spacecraft in case of emergency," Deng says. "Only when the crew returns to Earth will my mission be complete."

During training for Shenzhou-11, Deng, along with crew member Chen Dong were confined in a spacecraft simulator for 33 days, eating space food and enduring the noise of various facilities during his sleep.

"The success of the mission comes before my personal wishes," he said. Deng still believes he has a chance of a mission, and works as hard as any of his teammates.

"I won't give up, as long as I'm here," Deng says.

Deng's passion has inspired his daughter Deng Manqi, who now works for ground control in Beijing.

The father hadn't seen his daughter for nearly a year when they met in the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center during Shenzhou-10 mission. Under the medical quarantine, he saw his daughter across the barrier every day after dinner. He could hear her shouting ten meters away, "We will work together. Don't give up! Go, daddy, go!"

"My father is the most hardworking, most selfless person I've ever encountered. My dear dad, you will always be the greatest hero in my eyes," she wrote in an article. "Our life and dreams will go on. It's my privilege to work with you."