When Zhai Zhigang made his historic walk in space and waved the national flag, his wife Zhang Shujing seemed more excited than him. She could hardly contain her emotions.

Astronauts' wives (from left) Zhang Yao, Zhang Ping and Zhang Shujing pose for a picture in Beijing on September 28, 2008.

"When he opened the hatch door, my hands were full of sweat," she said, adding she has lost seven pounds over the past two weeks.

"Now I have prepared lilies and a rose for my husband's return. The rose represents my heart," she said.

"I feel so proud of him. I am just so proud and lucky to have such a great husband."

As the Chinese saying goes, husbands and wives share the same minds. During the three-day mission, Zhang Shujing and the wives of the two other astronauts may have been the most nervous and anxious people on Earth.

When their husbands were making history in space, Zhang Shujing, Zhang Yao and Zhang Ping all donned red clothes on Saturday as Chinese tradition regards red as a color of joy and good luck.

They talked with the astronauts from the Beijing ground control center on Saturday night.

In the conversation, Zhang Shujing asked her husband whether he had dreamed of her. "He said sorry that he had not," she said. "But I know I was in his heart."

Zhang Ping, the wife of Jing Haipeng, said: "I have never felt the time go by so slowly."

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

She was a bit surprised to find her husband "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 a pencil. They did an excellent job."

Zhang Yao, wife of Liu Boming, said her husband's performance was "perfect".

She said she plans to travel to Lushan Mountain with her husband after the mission. She described Liu as a "model husband" who often gives her birthday surprises.

Now the heroes are about to return.

The wives said they will welcome them with applause, flowers and warm hugs.

(Xinhua News Agency / China Daily September 29, 2008)