BEIJING: Three Chinese astronauts landed in northern China on Saturday after 183 days in space, state broadcaster CCTV Ending the country’s longest manned space mission so far.
The Shenzhou-13 spacecraft is the latest mission in Beijing’s campaign to become a major space power to rival the US, after landing a rover on Mars and sending a probe to the Moon.
Two men and one woman – Zhai ZhigangYe Guangfu and wang yaping – landed in a small capsule just before 10 a.m. Beijing time after six months on the Tianhe core module of China’s Tiangong space station.
“Shenzhou 13’s re-entry capsule successfully landed,” state broadcaster CCTV said.
The trio was originally launched last October from the Gobi Desert in northwestern China to Shenzhou-13, as the second of four crewed missions during 2021-2022 to assemble the country’s first permanent space station – Tiangong was sent, which means “heavenly palace.”
Wang became the first Chinese woman to perform a spacewalk last November, as she and her colleagues freckles Space station equipment installed during a six-hour term.
All three have completed two spacewalks during their time in orbit, conducted numerous scientific experiments, installed equipment and tested techniques for future construction.
Astronauts spent the past few weeks building and preparing cabin facilities and equipment for the crew of the upcoming Shenzhou-14, expected to launch in the coming months.
Tiangong is expected to serve for at least 10 years, and the three astronauts are the second group to live there.
Mission Commander Zhai is a former fighter pilot who performed China’s first spacewalk in 2008, while a pilot for the People’s Liberation Army.
China’s previous record spaceflight mission length was set by last year’s Shenzhou-12 mission, which lasted 92 days.
According to CCTV, six months will become the normal astronaut residency period on the Chinese space station.
The Shenzhou-13 spacecraft is the latest mission in Beijing’s campaign to become a major space power to rival the US, after landing a rover on Mars and sending a probe to the Moon.
Two men and one woman – Zhai ZhigangYe Guangfu and wang yaping – landed in a small capsule just before 10 a.m. Beijing time after six months on the Tianhe core module of China’s Tiangong space station.
“Shenzhou 13’s re-entry capsule successfully landed,” state broadcaster CCTV said.
The trio was originally launched last October from the Gobi Desert in northwestern China to Shenzhou-13, as the second of four crewed missions during 2021-2022 to assemble the country’s first permanent space station – Tiangong was sent, which means “heavenly palace.”
Wang became the first Chinese woman to perform a spacewalk last November, as she and her colleagues freckles Space station equipment installed during a six-hour term.
All three have completed two spacewalks during their time in orbit, conducted numerous scientific experiments, installed equipment and tested techniques for future construction.
Astronauts spent the past few weeks building and preparing cabin facilities and equipment for the crew of the upcoming Shenzhou-14, expected to launch in the coming months.
Tiangong is expected to serve for at least 10 years, and the three astronauts are the second group to live there.
Mission Commander Zhai is a former fighter pilot who performed China’s first spacewalk in 2008, while a pilot for the People’s Liberation Army.
China’s previous record spaceflight mission length was set by last year’s Shenzhou-12 mission, which lasted 92 days.
According to CCTV, six months will become the normal astronaut residency period on the Chinese space station.