Shenzhou XVII crew returns to Earth
The Shenzhou XVII mission crew returned to Earth on Tuesday afternoon, concluding a six-month mission onboard the Tiangong space station.
The Shenzhou XVII spacecraft's reentry capsule, carrying the three astronauts—mission commander Senior Colonel Tang Hongbo, Lieutenant Colonel Tang Shengjie and Lieutenant Colonel Jiang Xinlin—touched down at 5:46 pm at the Dongfeng Landing Site in the middle of the Gobi Desert in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region after flying nine hours on the return journey.
Following safety checks outside the capsule, ground recovery personnel from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center opened the hatch of the bell-shaped vehicle and conducted a preliminary examination of the astronauts' condition.
Sitting inside the capsule, Tang Hongbo told ground controllers in Beijing via radio that his team had landed and they were "feeling good".
- Escalating conflict would produce no winners, only push the Middle East into a 'dangerous abyss': China's Defense Ministry
- Military use of AI should remain human-led to prevent it from spiraling out of control: China's Defense Ministry
- National political adviser proposes to enhance talent cultivation for elite engineers in China
- Efforts intensify to preserve and promote ethnic cultures in Xizang
- Interwoven communities in China foster cultural unity and development, says national political adviser
- AI revolutionizes education: from uniformity to personalized learning, says national political adviser
