Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Chinese space station crew returns after six months in orbit
Beijing, Nov 3 (AFP) Nov 03, 2024
A three-person Chinese crew returned to Earth early Monday after more than six months aboard the Tiangong space station, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu were all "in good health" after touching down in the return capsule of their Shenzhou spaceship at the Dongfeng landing site in Inner Mongolia, Xinhua said.

The three men had traveled to Tiangong in late April and were met on October 30 by three new astronauts, including the country's only woman spaceflight engineer, with whom they did a five-day handover before making their return journey.

China has ramped up plans to achieve its "space dream" under President Xi Jinping.

Its space programme was the third to put humans in orbit and has also landed robotic rovers on Mars and the Moon.

Crewed by teams of three astronauts that are rotated every three-six months, the Tiangong space station is the programme's crown jewel.

Its core module was launched in 2021, and it is planned to be used for about 10 years.

Beijing says it is on track to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030, where it intends to construct a base on the lunar surface.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
EU faces heat over millions paid to Musk firms
SpaceX launches another batch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit
NASA hosts Twitch event for moon mascot, zero-g indicator contest

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Study reveals new source of the heavy elements
The Squid Galaxy's neutrino game just leveled up
Accelerating Mathematical Discovery with AI for Tomorrow's Breakthroughs

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
US announces new sanctions against Iran as talks proceed
Trump says would be 'stupid' to reject Qatari Air Force One gift
Indian PM Modi vows strong response to any future 'terrorist attack'

24/7 News Coverage
Taiwanese war drama 'wake-up call' to Chinese invasion threat
Nepal holds tribute for disappearing glacier
Aztec Obsidian Study Uncovers Complex Ancient Trade Networks


All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.