Chinese taikonauts return after breaking space records
Three taikonauts from the Shenzhou-18 mission safely landed in the Gobi Desert near Dongfeng, ending their six-month stay on the Chinese space station Tiangong. During this time, they conducted a series of important scientific experiments.
On the night from Sunday to Monday, at 5:24 PM Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), the Shenzhou-18 mission capsule touched down in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region – reported Xinhua, cited by the Polish Press Agency. The crew spent 192 days on the Tiangong station, setting new records for the Chinese space program.
The mission was led by 43-year-old Ye Guangfu, who, with this flight, became the first Chinese astronaut to spend more than 365 days in space. He had previously been a member of the Shenzhou-13 mission in 2021-2022. He was accompanied by two newcomers: 34-year-old Li Cong and 36-year-old Li Guangsu, both fighter pilots.
During the mission, the crew conducted numerous scientific experiments, including studies of ancient microbes. Ye and Li conducted a record-breaking 8-and-a-half-hour spacewalk outside the Tiangong station at the end of May. In June, during another outing, they installed protective shields against space debris.
China plans further space expansion
Less than an hour after landing, the taikonauts left the capsule and were transported to Beijing, where, according to state media, they will undergo comprehensive examinations and recovery.
Since 30 October, a new crew has been working on the Tiangong station, having arrived on the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft. This crew includes commander 48-year-old Cai Xuzhe, a participant in the Shenzhou-14 mission, and two newcomers: air force pilot Song Lingdong and scientist Wang Haoze, both born in the 1990s. 34-year-old Wang is the third Chinese woman to participate in a space flight and the first female space-flight engineer.
The Chinese space programme plans to send taikonauts to the Moon and bring back samples from Mars by 2030 – reports the Polish Press Agency.
