Weather of Arabia - Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Friday (September 17) after a 90-day visit to the incomplete Chinese space station, in the country's first manned mission since 2016.
As the three astronauts landed safely in a small return capsule in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in northern China at 1:34 pm local time, the Shenzhou-12 mission was the first of four manned missions planned for the 2021-2022 years. China is assembling its first permanent space station.
China has indicated that the construction process of the space station requires 11 missions, including the launch of the three units of the station that took place previously, as construction began in April with the launch of the "Tianhe" unit, which is the basic unit in the station intended for the accommodation of astronauts, where the three astronauts stayed. From mid-June to mid-September, a total of 90 days, which is China's longest space mission .
In the details of the mission: While in orbit, the astronauts conducted spacewalks, validated the life support system of the Tianhe unit, tested the unit's robotic arm, and sorted supplies for upcoming manned missions.
(A giant screen in a shopping mall in Beijing shows Chinese astronauts Ni Haisheng (center), Liu Beoming (right) and Tang Hongbo, from the Shenzhou-12 mission saluting inside the Tianhe core module of China's space station, June 18, 2021 - Photograph: Thomas Peter/Reuters)
The second manned mission, Shenzhou-13, is scheduled to begin in October, and the next batch of astronauts is expected to stay in Tianhe for six months.
Before the Shenzhou-13 mission, China will send an automated cargo spacecraft, carrying supplies for the next crew.
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