Desk Report
Publish: 16 Apr 2022, 01:11 pm
The three Chinese astronauts || Photo: AFP
Three Chinese astronauts landed in northern China on
Saturday after 183 days in space, state broadcaster CCTV said, ending the
country's longest crewed space mission to date.
The Shenzhou-13 spacecraft is the latest mission in
Beijing's drive to become a major space power rivalling the United States,
after landing a rover on Mars and sending probes to the Moon.
The two men and one woman -- Zhai Zhigang, Ye Guangfu and
Wang Yaping -- landed safely in a small capsule shortly before 10 am Beijing
time, after six months aboard the Tianhe core module of China's Tiangong space
station.
"Shenzhou 13's re-entry capsule successfully landed,"
state broadcaster CCTV said.
Live footage from CCTV showed the capsule landing in a cloud
of dust, with ground crew who had kept clear of the landing site rushing in
helicopters to reach the capsule.
Ground crew applauded as the astronauts each took turns to
report that they were "feeling good."
The trio originally launched in the Shenzhou-13 from the
Gobi Desert in northwestern China last October, as the second of four crewed
missions during 2021-2022 sent to assemble the country's first permanent space
station -- Tiangong, which means "heavenly palace."
Wang became the first Chinese woman to spacewalk last
November, as she and her colleague Zhai installed space station equipment during
a six-hour stint.
Mission commander Zhai, 55, is a former fighter pilot who
performed China's first spacewalk in 2008, while Ye is a People's Liberation
Army pilot.
The trio have completed two spacewalks, carried out numerous
scientific experiments, set up equipment and tested technologies for future
construction during their time in orbit.
The astronauts spent the past few weeks tidying up and
preparing the cabin facilities and equipment for the crew of the incoming
Shenzhou-14, expected to be launched in the coming months.
China's previous record spaceflight mission length was set
by last year's Shenzhou-12 mission, which lasted 92 days.
Six months will become the normal astronaut residence period
aboard the Chinese space station, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Space race
The world's second-largest economy has put billions into its
military-run space programme, with hopes of having a permanently crewed space
station by 2022 and eventually sending humans to the Moon.
The country has come a long way in catching up with the
United States and Russia, whose astronauts and cosmonauts have decades of experience
in space exploration.
But under Chinese president Xi Jinping the country's plans
for its heavily-promoted "space dream" have been put into overdrive.
Besides a space station, Beijing is also planning to build a
base on the Moon, and the country's National Space Administration said it aims
to launch a crewed lunar mission by 2029.
China has been excluded from the International Space Station
since 2011, when the US banned NASA from engaging with it.
While China does not plan to use its space station for
global cooperation on the scale of the ISS, Beijing has said it is open to
foreign collaboration although the scope of that cooperation is not yet clear.
The ISS is due for retirement after 2024, although NASA has
said it could remain functional until 2030._AFP
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