Chinese astronauts return to Earth after mission

Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Saturday night (3) after completing a mission on China’s space station, Tiangong. According to the Chinese news agency, the Shenzhou-15 capsule landed in the north of the country at 19:34 (Brasilia time).

Shenzhou-15 mission commander Fei Junlong and crewmates Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu had been at the station since November last year on a mission classified by the group as an “absolute success”.

What you need to know

The Chinese space program is in full swing

The taikonauts, as Chinese astronauts are called, spent six months doing spacewalks and experiments in zero gravity.

Now, a new crew takes over the place. China dispatched Shenzhou-16 last week, and Fei and his crewmates handed over control of the station to the new team.

Tiangong was completed last year. In a few years, the International Space Station (ISS) will be decommissioned and, so far, neither the United States nor Russia have advanced plans to build a new location in space.

With 20 percent of the total mass of the International Space Station (ISS), Tiangong has an estimated service life of 10 years, which could be extended for another five years with future upgrades, according to the CNSA.

Also according to the agency, China plans to keep its orbital laboratory constantly occupied during this period, not only by taikonauts, but also by astronauts of other nationalities and also by tourist visits.

The post Astronauts from China return to Earth after mission first appeared on Olhar Digital.

Source: Olhar Digital