After five months on board the Chinese space station, three astronauts returned to Earth on Tuesday. The capsule of their spacecraft “Shenzhou 16” (Magic Ship) was slowed down by a large parachute and landed near the Jiuquan Cosmodrome in the Gobi Desert.
This was evident from live images (see video above) that were shown on Chinese state television.Astronauts Zhu Yangzhu, Gui Haichao and Commander Jing Haipeng were at the age of 30.
Third crew on the way to the “heaven palace”
Before returning to Earth, a new three-person crew left for the space station “Tiangong” (Sky Palace) on the spacecraft “Shenzhou 17” last Thursday. It was the second crew change since the station became fully operational at the beginning of this year.
The commander of the new mission is Tang Hongbo (48), a space veteran who returned to Earth more than two years ago with the ‘Shenzhou 12’ mission after a three-month stay in space. Tang Shengjie (33) and Jiang Xinlin (35) fly into space with him for the first time. In terms of average age, it is the youngest crew that China has sent into space to date.
Manned moon mission planned for 2030
China is continuously working on its space program. Just like the US, the Chinese also want to send people to the moon again. The People’s Republic’s first manned lunar mission is planned for 2030.
Source: Krone
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
