The very first crewed mission to Chinas brand-new area station is in the books.A spacecraft bring Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo touched down securely in the Gobi Desert in Inner Mongolia today (Sept. 17) at 1:34 a.m. EDT (0534 GMT; 1:34 p.m. Beijing time) today, bringing the historical Shenzhou 12 objective to an end.Shenzhou 12 launched on June 16 and showed up 7 hours later on at Tianhe (” Harmony of the Heavens”), the core module of Chinas Earth-orbiting area station. Shenzhou 12 then carried out a rendezvous test with Tianhe, which was total by 1:38 a.m. EDT (0538 GMT) Thursday (Sept. 16), CMSEO authorities said in another update.Video: Watch Chinas Shenzhou 12 astronauts land back on EarthMore: The latest news about Chinas space programThe three-person crew of Shenzhou 12 – Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo – are seen after exiting their Shenzhou capsule after landing in n the Gobi Desert in Inner Mongolia on Sept. 17, 2021 to end a 90-day objective to Chinas Tianhe module, the very first piece of the Tiangong space station. Tiangong 1 reached Earth orbit in September 2011 and hosted 2 crewed missions, Shenzhou 9 in June 2012 and Shenzhou 10 in June 2013. Shenzhou 12, Inspiration4 and the International Space Station were all aloft at the very same time for a couple of days this week, setting a brand-new record for the many individuals in area all at once (14 ).
The very first crewed objective to Chinas new area station is in the books.A spacecraft bring Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo touched down securely in the Gobi Desert in Inner Mongolia today (Sept. 17) at 1:34 a.m. EDT (0534 GMT; 1:34 p.m. Beijing time) today, bringing the historic Shenzhou 12 objective to an end.Shenzhou 12 released on June 16 and showed up 7 hours later at Tianhe (” Harmony of the Heavens”), the core module of Chinas Earth-orbiting area station. The Shenzhou 12 crew, commanded by Nie, spent 90 days aboard Tianhe, remaining up about 3 times longer than any previous Chinese crewed spaceflight. Shenzhou 12s go back to Earth was a multiday affair. The spacecraft separated from Tianhe Wednesday (Sept. 15) at 8:56 p.m. EDT (0056 GMT on Sept. 16), according to a statement launched by the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO). Shenzhou 12 then carried out a rendezvous test with Tianhe, which was complete by 1:38 a.m. EDT (0538 GMT) Thursday (Sept. 16), CMSEO officials stated in another update.Video: Watch Chinas Shenzhou 12 astronauts land back on EarthMore: The latest news about Chinas area programThe three-person team of Shenzhou 12 – Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo – are seen after leaving their Shenzhou capsule after landing in n the Gobi Desert in Inner Mongolia on Sept. 17, 2021 to end a 90-day mission to Chinas Tianhe module, the first piece of the Tiangong spaceport station. (Image credit: CMSE) During their time in orbit, the Shenzhou 12 astronauts snapped some remarkable images of Earth and carried out a variety of clinical experiments. They likewise performed 2 spacewalks developed to assist get the 54-foot-long (16.6 meters) Tianhe fully up and running and ready for future visits, which will be regular over the coming months.For example, China is expected to send out the robotic Tianzhou 3 cargo spacecraft toward Tianhe around Sept. 20. And the next crewed mission to the module, the six-month-long Shenzhou 13, is obviously scheduled to introduce in mid-October. (Exact target dates are difficult to come by with Chinese missions, because the country tends not to announce many details of its spaceflight plans beforehand.) China likewise prepares to release 2 more modules to orbit, which will link with Tianhe to form a three-piece spaceport station called Tiangong (” Heavenly Palace”) thats about 20% as enormous as the International Space Station (ISS). Assembly of this orbital outpost is anticipated to be finished next year. ” Tiangong” must sound familiar to space fans, since China introduced 2 pathfinder area labs with that name in the last years. Tiangong 1 reached Earth orbit in September 2011 and hosted 2 crewed missions, Shenzhou 9 in June 2012 and Shenzhou 10 in June 2013. Tiangong 2 increased in September 2016 and welcomed the Shenzhou 11 astronauts aboard for a 30-day mission the next month.Both of those Tiangongs are long gone. Tiangong 1 made an unrestrained reentry to Earths atmosphere in April 2018, burning up over the Pacific Ocean. Tiangong 2 was steered to a planned demise, likewise over the Pacific, in July 2019. Shenzhou 12s landing comes just one day before another highly prepared for return– that of SpaceXs Inspiration4 mission, the first-ever all-civilian journey to Earth orbit. Inspiration4 introduced on Wednesday night (Sept. 15), sending four individuals on a three-day journey around our world. Its set up to splash down on Saturday (Sept. 18). Shenzhou 12, Inspiration4 and the International Space Station were all up at the very same time for a few days this week, setting a new record for the most individuals in space all at once (14 ). The ISS, of course, is an orbital component, having actually hosted turning astronaut crews continually given that November 2000. Mike Wall is the author of “Out There” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; highlighted by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook..