Beijing: China’s Shenzhou-17 spacecraft returned to Earth Tuesday, carrying three astronauts who have completed a six-month mission aboard the country’s orbiting space station.
The three, Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin, landed at the Dongfeng site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the Gobi desert shortly before 6:00 pm (1000 GMT). It comes roughly four days after the Shenzhou-18 mission docked with the station with their three-member replacement crew onboard.
China built its own space station after being excluded from the International Space Station, largely because of US concerns over the Chinese military’s total control of the space programme amid a sharpening competition in technology between the two geopolitical rivals. This year, the Chinese station is slated for two cargo spacecraft missions and two manned spaceflight missions.
China’s ambitious space programme aims to put astronauts on the moon by 2030, as well as bring back samples from Mars around the same year and launch three lunar probe missions over the next four years.
The new crew is made up of Commander Ye Guangfu, 43, a veteran astronaut who took part in the Shenzhou-13 mission in 2021, and fighter pilots Li Cong, 34, and Li Guangsu, 36, who are spaceflight rookies.
They will spend about six months on the three modules of the space station, the Tiangong, which can accommodate up to six astronauts at a time. During their stay, they will conduct scientific tests, install space debris protection equipment, carry out payload experiments, and beam science classes to students on Earth.
China has also said that it eventually plans to offer access to its space station to foreign astronauts and space tourists. With the ISS nearing the end of its useful life, China could in future remain the only country or corporation to maintain a crewed station in orbit.
China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003, becoming the third country after the former Soviet Union and the US to put a person into space using its own resources. Tiangong was launched in 2021 and completed 18 months later.
The US space programme is believed to still hold a significant edge over China’s due to its spending, supply chains and capabilities. However, China has broken out in some areas, bringing samples back from the lunar surface for the first time in decades and landing a rover on the less explored far side of the moon.
China has once again hoisted its flag in the sky. Chinese astronauts have returned to Earth safely after spending 6 months in space on a special mission. This is a big achievement for China. China’s Shenzhou-17 spacecraft returned to Earth on Tuesday carrying three astronauts, completing a six-month mission on the country’s space station. The three astronauts Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengji and Jiang Xinlin landed at the Dongfeng site in the Gobi Desert in northern China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region shortly before 6 p.m.
Four days before the trio returned to Earth, a three-member team had reached the space station under the Shenzhou-18 mission. After being kicked out of the International Space Station, China built its own space station. This year, two cargo spacecraft missions and two manned spaceflight missions are scheduled for the Chinese station. China’s ambitious space program aims to send astronauts to the Moon by 2030.
China wants to do this big work in 2023
China dreams of sending humans to the Moon around 2030, bringing back samples from Mars, and launching three lunar probe missions over the next four years. The new team includes 43-year-old veteran commander Ye Guangfu, who participated in the Shenzhou-13 mission in 2021. The team also includes fighter pilots 34-year-old Li Kang and 36-year-old Li Guangsu. They will spend approximately six months on three modules of the space station, Tiangong. During this time they will conduct various scientific experiments and give science classes to students on Earth.
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