Chinese astronauts from the Shenzhou-16 mission, from left, Gui Haichao, Zhu Yangzhu and Jing Haipeng. File
| Photo Credit: AP
Three Chinese astronauts on Sunday returned safely to Earth on board the Shenzhou-15 manned spaceship after finishing their six-month mission to construct China’s space station.
Shenzhou-15‘s return capsule carrying astronauts Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu, touched down on the Dongfeng touchdown website in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 6.33 a.m. (Beijing Time), China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) stated right here.
The three accomplished their six-month space station mission, it introduced.
The astronauts had been in fine condition, and the Shenzhou-15 manned mission was a hit, the company introduced.
The three had been changed by three different astronauts, together with China’s first civilian who efficiently flew to the space station on May 30.
The new set of astronauts will keep in the space station for 5 months.
Once prepared, China would be the solely nation to personal a space station because the International Space Station (ISS) of Russia is a collaborative undertaking of a number of nations. The ISS station can also be set to be decommissioned by 2030.
The important characteristic of China’s space station is its two robotic arms, particularly the lengthy one which may seize objects, together with satellites from space.
The three astronauts later arrived in Beijing by airplane after their secure return to earth.
The crew will enter a interval of medical quarantine and endure complete medical examinations and well being evaluations, the CMSA stated.
“We have completed all the scheduled tasks and felt good after returning to the motherland,” Fei, the mission commander, stated.
Fei had additionally participated in the nation’s second crewed space mission, Shenzhou-6, in October 2005.
Deng, who lastly acquired the prospect to fly to space after 25 years of preparation, stated: “I always believe in the power of dreams and persistence. No matter how old I am, I feel so happy to be needed by the nation.” “I’m now very excited, and when I was on the space station, I often watched through the window, trying to find my motherland and hometown,” Xinhua information company quoted Zhang, considered one of China’s second batch of astronauts, as saying.
“We will adjust our bodies as soon as possible, go back into training, and be ready for space missions in the future,” Zhang added.
During their keep in the space station, the crew efficiently obtained three-dimensional structural photos of their pores and skin cells with the nation’s self-developed two-photon microscope, Xinhua reported.
This achievement, the primary of its variety worldwide, marked the success of the in-orbit verification experiments of the two-photon microscope, offering a promising instrument for future well being monitoring of astronauts in orbit.
They additionally efficiently carried out the primary in-orbit ignition check in the Mengtian space lab module’s combustion cupboard in the course of the Shenzhou-15 mission.
In addition, it’s price mentioning that the operation of the nation’s Stirling thermoelectric convertor realized its in-orbit verification. The heat-to-electricity convertor confirmed an internationally superior conversion effectivity throughout its easy operation, the CMSA stated.
They additionally accomplished in-orbit experiments on liquid metallic thermal administration on its space station for the primary time ever in the course of the Shenzhou-15 mission.
These experiments verified a sequence of key applied sciences regarding bismuth-based metallic in microgravity, equivalent to managed melting, growth and convection warmth switch.
As of May 29, that they had performed eight human elements engineering analysis actions, 28 space medical experiments and 38 space science experiments overlaying life ecology, materials science and fluid mechanics, and obtained invaluable experimental knowledge, the CMSA stated.
The crew additionally moved cargo outboard a number of occasions and put in a number of objects of kit, together with extravehicular prolonged pump units, cross-module cables, and supporting gadgets for the extravehicular payload platform, laying a basis for finishing up subsequent large-scale science and know-how experiments outdoors the space station, in keeping with the CMSA.
The crew witnessed the completion of the nation’s space station development, it stated.
