Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain
Three Chinese astronauts working on the Chinese space station have returned safely to Earth, state media reported Sunday, hailing the mission as a “complete success”.
The return capsule of the Shenzhou-15 spacecraft has landed at a landing site in northern China’s Inner Mongolia region, according to Xinhua news agency.
Xinhua reported that the astronauts Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu exited the capsule in “good physical condition”.
“The mission … was a complete success,” she said.
Video footage showed medical officials in white suits and face masks wrapping the astronauts in blue blankets and carrying them away from the barren landing site, where the copper capsule was flanked by red flags.
The three spent six months at the Tiangong space station, conducting spacewalks and a variety of scientific experiments.
Last week, China sent three more astronauts — including its first civilian in orbit — to the space station as part of the Shenzhou-16 successor mission.
The world’s second largest economy has poured billions of dollars into the military’s space program in a bid to catch up with the United States and Russia.
Beijing aims to send a manned mission to the moon by 2030 and plans to build a lunar base.
© 2023 AFP
the quote: Three Chinese Astronauts Safely Return to Earth (2023, June 4) Retrieved June 4, 2023 from https://phys.org/news/2023-06-chinese-astronauts-safely-earth.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without written permission. The content is provided for informational purposes only.
