BEIJING: Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Saturday after 183 days in space, ending a mission by China’s largest crew to become the world’s largest space force.
According to a report, this was the latest mission of the Beijing to counter the United States after landing the Shenzhou-13 spacecraft on Mars and sending probes to the moon.
Live footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed the capsule landing with clouds of dust and ground crews clearing the landing site as helicopters rushed to reach the capsule.
Two men and a woman, Zhai Zheng, Yi Guangfu and Wang Yaping, returned to Earth six months later, just before 10 a.m. local time on the Tianhe Core module of China’s Tiangong space station.
The ground crew greeted him with applause, and the three astronauts took turns reporting that he was in good physical condition.
Mission Commander Zhai was the first person to emerge from the capsule about 45 minutes after landing, waving his hand and smiling at the cameras, after which the ground crew seated him on a specially designed chair and lifted him over their shoulders.
“I’m proud of my brave country, I’m feeling great,” Zai said in an interview with CCTV shortly after leaving the capsule.
It was the second of four space missions sent from the country’s first permanent space station, Tiangong, in 2021-22, and all three were originally launched in October last year in the Shinzo 13 from the northwestern Gobi Desert in China.
Wang Yaping became the first Chinese woman to step into space last November as she and her partner Zai installed the space station equipment in a six-hour period.
Zie, 55, is a former fighter pilot who made China’s first spacewalk in 2008, while Yi is a Guangzhou People’s Liberation Army pilot.
All three completed two spacewalks during their time in orbit, conducted numerous scientific experiments, set up equipment and experimented with technology to build the future.
The astronauts have spent the past few weeks cleaning and preparing the cabin facilities and equipment for the upcoming Shinzo-14 crew, where the next anti-mission is expected to be launched in the coming months.