Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth this Wednesday, April 30, after six months at the Tiangong National Space Station (“Celestial Palace”), according to state media, a new stage in the country’s statement as a power of space.
The capsule that carries the trio composed of Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, the third Chinese woman in space, posed inside Mongolia (northern China), said Chinese news agency Nouvelle, which ends the Shenzhou Mission.
Billions of euros injected into the Chinese space program
This marks the end of the Shenzhou-19 mission. China had postponed the return of the crew, initially scheduled for Tuesday, due to bad climatic conditions in the field.
The country has injected billions of euros into its space program to catch up with the United States and Russia. He hopes to send an inhabited mission to the moon by 2030 and build a lunar base.
The three Shenzhou-19 astronauts have been working at the Space Station since October. They conducted many experiences there, contributed to the maintenance of Tiangong and established a new record for launch in the longest space in history (more than nine hours).
Among the three Shenzhou-19 astronauts was Wang Haoze, 35. The only Chinese space flight engineer at the time of launching the mission, became the third Chinese woman to reach space, after Liu Yang (2012) and Wang YAPing (2013).
The crew was directed by Cai Xuzhe, 48, an experienced astronaut who had already participated in Shenzhou-14. They were accompanied by Song Lingdong, a former 34 -year -old Air Force driver, who was making his first flight in space.
Three new astronauts flew to Tiangong last week, marking the beginning of the Shenzhou-20 mission. They cohabit a few days with their colleagues from Shenzhou-19.
Source: BFM TV
