Desk Report
Publish: 16 Sep 2021, 04:09 pm
Chinese Astronauts Complete Three-Month Space Mission || Photo: Collected
Three Chinese astronauts have completed the country's longest crewed mission and started their journey home on Thursday after 90 days at the Tiangong space station conducting spacewalks and scientific experiments.
"The Shenzhou-12 manned spacecraft has successfully
separated from the space station's core module," state broadcaster CCTV
said Thursday.
The mission was part of China's heavily promoted space
programme, which has already seen the nation land a rover on Mars and send
probes to the moon.
The craft carrying the three taikonauts is expected to
return to earth on Friday, state-run China Aerospace news reported.
The launch of Beijing's first crewed mission in nearly five
years coincided with the 100th anniversary of the ruling Communist Party on
July 1, and was the highlight of a massive propaganda campaign.
Tiangong, meaning "heavenly palace", is expected
to last at least 10 years.
The core module of the space station, where the astronauts
lived, has separate living spaces for each astronaut, a "space
treadmill" and an exercise bike, as well as a communication centre for
emails and video calls with ground control, China's space administration said.
The mission is headed by Nie Haisheng, a decorated airforce
pilot in the People's Liberation Army who previously participated in two space
missions.
The two other astronauts, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo, are
also in the military.
The Chinese space agency is planning a total of 11 launches
before the end of next year, including three more crewed missions that will
deliver two lab modules to expand the 70-tonne station.
China's space ambitions have been fuelled in part by the US
ban on its astronauts on the International Space Station, a collaboration
between the United States, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan.
The ISS is due for retirement after 2024, although NASA has
said it could potentially remain functional beyond 2028.
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Topic : Chinese astronauts Shenzhou-12
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