On September 17, Chinese astronauts returned safely to Earth after three months of living and working in orbit.
China Central Television (CCTV) reported that the landing capsule carrying three male astronauts, including Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo, safely touched down in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in northern China at 1:34 PM on September 17. The astronauts are all in “good health” after their 90-day mission. Images broadcasted showed medical staff and support teams arriving by helicopter at the landing site. They will be isolated for 14 days before being allowed to return home, “as their immune systems may have weakened after a long mission.”
Earlier, on June 17, the Shenzhou 12 spacecraft carrying the three astronauts was launched by a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan launch site in the Gobi Desert in northwest China. Shenzhou 12 successfully docked with the forward port of the Tianhe core module on the same day, forming a three-module complex along with the Tianzhou 2 cargo spacecraft. The three astronauts lived in the Tianhe core module and conducted a spacewalk, installing and testing equipment on the Tiangong space station. Before Shenzhou 12 detached from the Tianhe core module, the astronauts transmitted experimental data back to Earth.
The launch of the Shenzhou 12 spacecraft was the third mission in less than two months in a strong effort to advance China’s space station construction program. Previously, China successfully launched the Tianhe core module of the space station on April 29 and the Tianzhou 2 cargo spacecraft on May 29. According to China’s space station construction plan, in 2021 and 2022, the country will carry out 11 rocket launches to send the core module, crewed spacecraft, and cargo spacecraft into space. It is expected that by 2022, China will complete the construction and operation of the 100-ton Tiangong space station, which will have space for three scientists to work long-term.
Chinese astronauts working on the Tiangong space station. (Photo: space.com).
The Tiangong space station will operate in low Earth orbit at an altitude of 340-450 km above the surface. This is China’s first long-term operational space station in geostationary orbit. The Tianhe core module is 16.6 meters long and 4.2 meters in diameter, serving as the living and control space for the astronauts. Meanwhile, two laboratories will be used for conducting scientific experiments. After the International Space Station (ISS) is expected to cease operations in 2025, China’s Tiangong space station will become the only space station in orbit.
