Three Chinese astronauts have returned to Earth today, Friday, after a 90-day stay aboard China's incomplete space station in the longest manned Chinese mission in outer space since 2016. The astronauts, Ni Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo, safely landed using a small return capsule in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in northern China at 05:34 GMT, according to state media.
The Shenzhou-12 mission, meaning "Divine Vessel," was the first of four planned manned missions in 2021-2022 as China assembles its first permanent space station. The operation requires 11 missions, including the launch of three modules for the station, which China began constructing in space in April with the launch of the Tianhe module, meaning "Harmony of the Heavens."
While aboard the orbital space station, the astronauts conducted spacewalks, verified the life support systems in "Tianhe," tested the robotic arm of the module, and sorted supplies for upcoming manned missions. The second crewed mission is scheduled to begin next October, with the next group of astronauts expected to stay in "Tianhe" for six months.
The Chinese space station, expected to be completed by the end of 2022, will be the only alternative to the 20-year-old International Space Station, which may be retired in 2024. The last Chinese manned mission was in 2016, when the Shenzhou-11 vessel carried astronauts to Tiangong-2, a prototype space station, where they remained for about a month.
Beijing aims to become a major space power by 2030. In May, it became the second country to land a spacecraft on the surface of Mars, following the landing of the first Chinese spacecraft on the far side of the Moon two years earlier. China is also planning to send astronauts to the Moon.
