HELSINKI — China’s Shenzhou-17 crew returned to Earth Tuesday following six months aboard the Tiangong area station.
Astronauts Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin had been working the Tiangong area station since October. The crew departed the station at 8:43 p.m. Jap April 29 (0043 UTC on April 30) and landed at Dongfeng touchdown website in Interior Mongolia Autonomous Area close to Jiuquan spaceport at 5:46 a.m. Jap (0946 UTC) April 30.
Restoration crews have been on the scene moments after the return capsule touched down. Commander Tang Hongbo was first out of the capsule. “I really feel so proud for my nation. I departed in autumn and got here again in spring and I really feel I’ve skilled essentially the most lovely seasons,” Tang stated.
“Flying for over 180 days within the area station, I completed all of the duties, however on the similar time, I miss my residence everytime I fly over my homeland.”
Shenzhou-17 launched Oct. 25 Jap, 2023, taking up management of Tiangong from the outgoing Shenzhou-16 crew days later. Tang Hongbo and his colleagues welcomed the incoming Shenzhou-18 crew aboard Tiangong April 25.
The 2 crews participated in a handover ceremony April 28. Tang handed over the hatch key as a symbolic handing of the baton to Shenzhou-18 mission commander Ye Guangfu.
The Shenzhou-17 crew launched into two spacewalks to conduct restore and upkeep work on the station’s photo voltaic arrays. The panels had suffered harm from micrometeoroid strikes.
The trio additionally oversaw the arrival of the Tianzhou-7 cargo resupply mission in January. The astronauts additionally despatched reside lunar new yr’s greetings to tv viewers on Earth and took part in electroencephalogram (EEG) assessments, which targeted on the human mind in area.
They return having performed 84 in-orbit experiments with greater than 200 samples produced, in accordance with China Central Tv (CCTV), and have introduced again over 400 materials samples retrieved after being uncovered to area exterior the Wentian experiment module.
The Shenzhou-18 crew will perform greater than 90 experiments aboard Tiangong. They are going to conduct two to a few extravehicular actions and 6 cargo outbound deliveries through the station’s cargo airlock throughout their six-month-long mission.
Shenzhou-17 was the sixth crew to go to Tiangong. Whereas crewed missions and handovers have apparently turn into routine for China, the nation is advancing its human spaceflight ambitions.
China is near deciding on a fourth batch of astronauts which can be skilled to journey to, and work aboard, Tiangong. The brand new batch may additionally be concerned in coaching for China’s crewed lunar plans.
China accepted its area station plan in 1992 and started constructing the three-module, T-shaped low Earth orbit outpost in 2021.
China is making ready to develop Tiangong within the coming years. The primary transfer can be sending a multi-functional enlargement module with six docking ports to the orbital outpost. This enlargement may permit for better potentialities for worldwide, vacationer and business visits with out disrupting core operations.
