Three Chinese taikonauts returned to Earth today after completing a six-month space mission on China’s Tiangong orbital station. The return capsule of the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft carrying the taikonauts landed at the Dongfeng landing site in northern China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said.
Image source: CCTV/CMSA
The Shenzhou-19 spacecraft carrying Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze undocked from the Tiangong orbital station on Tuesday, April 29, at 23:00 Moscow time. After nine hours of travel, the capsule with the taikonauts landed at 08:08 Moscow time. The landing was scheduled for Tuesday, but due to windy weather in Dongfeng, all operations to return the crew to Earth had to be postponed for several hours.
During their time in orbit, the Shenzhou-19 taikonauts conducted 86 scientific experiments. One involved placing a brick made from simulated lunar soil on the outer surface of the orbital station to test the effects of long-term exposure to the space environment. The results of the experiment could help China build a lunar base with international partners in the 2030s.
Currently, a new crew of taikonauts has taken up duty at the Tiangong orbital station, having arrived there on the Shenzhou-20 ship. This is the ninth expedition of taikonauts to the Chinese orbital station.