Chinese astronauts return to earth after six months in space

China’s Shenzhou-17 spacecraft returned to Earth Tuesday, carrying three astronauts who’ve accomplished a six-month mission aboard the nation’s orbiting space station.

The three, Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin, landed on the Dongfeng web site in north China’s Inside Mongolia Autonomous Area within the Gobi desert shortly earlier than 6:00 p.m. (1000 GMT). It comes roughly 4 days after the Shenzhou-18 mission docked with the station with their three-member alternative crew onboard.

China constructed its personal space station after being excluded from the Worldwide House Station, largely due to U.S. issues over the Chinese language army’s total management of the space program amid a sharpening competitors in expertise between the 2 geopolitical rivals. This 12 months, the Chinese language station is slated for 2 cargo spacecraft missions and two manned spaceflight missions.

China’s formidable space program goals to place astronauts on the moon by 2030, in addition to convey again samples from Mars across the similar 12 months and launch three lunar probe missions over the following 4 years.

The brand new crew is made up of Commander Ye Guangfu, 43, a veteran astronaut who took half within the Shenzhou-13 mission in 2021, and fighter pilots Li Cong, 34, and Li Guangsu, 36, who’re spaceflight rookies.

They are going to spend about six months on the three modules of the space station, the Tiangong, which may accommodate as much as six astronauts at a time. Throughout their keep, they’ll conduct scientific exams, set up space particles safety tools, perform payload experiments, and beam science lessons to college students on Earth.

China has additionally mentioned that it will definitely plans to offer access to its space station to foreign astronauts and space tourists. With the ISS nearing the top of its helpful life, China might in future stay the one nation or company to keep up a crewed station in orbit.

China performed its first crewed space mission in 2003, changing into the third nation after the previous Soviet Union and the U.S. to place an individual into space utilizing its personal sources. Tiangong was launched in 2021 and accomplished 18 months later.

The U.S. space program is believed to nonetheless maintain a big edge over China’s attributable to its spending, provide chains and capabilities. Nonetheless, China has damaged out in some areas, bringing samples again from the lunar surface for the primary time in many years and touchdown a rover on the much less explored far aspect of the moon.

The U.S. goals to place a crew again on the lunar floor by the top of 2025 as a part of a renewed dedication to crewed missions, aided by non-public sector gamers similar to SpaceX and Blue Origin.

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