THREE Chinese astronauts returned to Earth after a six-month stay on the country’s Tiangong space station.
A parachute slowed their capsule’s descent to a remote landing area in the Inner Mongolia region. The crew emerged after touching down at 1.24am yesterday.
Tiangong, which was completed two years ago, is part of China’s efforts to be a leader in space exploration. In recent years, the country’s space programme has brought back rocks from the moon and landed a rover on Mars.
It aims to put a person on the moon by 2030, which would make it the second nation after the United States to do so.
The space station astronauts returned after welcoming a replacement three-person crew last week for the latest six-month mission. The new crew will carry out spacewalks, among others.
Only Chinese astronauts have gone to the space station so far, but China is in discussions for other nations to join missions, Xinhua reported.
China is blocked from the International Space Station mainly because of US concerns over the military’s involvement in China’s space program. — AP
