Three Chinese astronauts, also known as tycoons, returned safely to Earth yesterday after spending six months aboard the unfinished Chinese space station Tiangong, according to a report by Space.com. This is China’s second manned mission to Tiangong and the longest so far.
The Shenzhou 13 spacecraft landed in the Inner Mongol desert at 9:56 a.m. local time on Saturday morning, taking off from the main module of the Tianhe space station about nine hours earlier. The crew took off from the Jiuquan satellite launch center in the Gobi Desert last October and spent a total of 183 days on the space station.
Wang Yaping went down in history as the first Chinese woman to make a space trip
This mission is not only the longest in China, but tycoon Wang Yaping went down in history as the first Chinese woman to visit the Tianhe space station, and also became the first Chinese woman to take a spacewalk. Wang was accompanied by his teammate Ye Guangfu and Commander Jai Jigan. The trio took a total of two spacewalks, conducted various tests around the station, and gave two live lectures to students observing from Earth.
Shenzhou 13 is part of 11 missions that China plans to complete the construction of the Tiangong Space Station. China first launched the Tianhe module in April 2021, and later sent three tycoons to launch the station online. As Space.com notes, the Shenzhou 14 crew is due to leave for the space station sometime in June. China plans to complete the station by the end of the year, which will include the launch of two additional modules.
While six months aboard a space station sounds like a long time, this is the typical time frame for missions to the International Space Station, from which China is excluded. NASA astronaut Mark Van de Haye, who just returned to Earth last month, currently holds the record for the longest consecutive stay in space – 355 days.
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