China’s Shenzhou-12 Mission Astronauts Return To Earth After 90 Days In Space

The three-member crew of China's Shenzhou-12 mission made a safe return to Earth on Friday, September 17, after spending 90 days in orbit, which marks the country's longest-ever crewed mission

New Delhi: The three Chinese astronauts on board the country’s Shenzhou-12 mission returned to Earth on Friday, September 17, after spending three months in space, media reports said. This was China's longest-ever crewed mission.

The astronauts landed in the Gobi Desert at 11:05 am (IST). They were present inside a capsule which was suspended from a parachute, an AFP report said. 

Nie Haisheng, a former Chinese Air-Force Pilot, was the commander of the mission.

The other two astronauts, Tang Hongbo and Liu Boming, are also from the military.

Timeline Of Descent

The three Chinese astronauts — Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo — boarded their return craft, and undocked from the Tiangong, which is the core module for China's planned space station, SpaceflightNow.com reported at 8:05 am (IST).

By 10:17 (IST), the habitation module of the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft had jettisoned. The landing section of the spacecraft performed a deorbit burn, after which the capsule started descending to the landing zone in north-western China.

The spacecraft completed its deorbit burn, SpaceflightNow tweeted at 10:22 am (IST). 

At 10:40 am (IST), the Twitter handle posted that the spacecraft's Propulsion Module had jettisoned to burn up on atmospheric re-entry. The crew module had a heat shield to protect the crew during atmospheric re-entry.

China Global Television Network's (CGTN) infrared tracking cameras sighted the capsule's re-entry around 10:45 am.

The capsule deployed a parachute for final descent on the Gobi desert a little after 10:50 am. 

At 11 am, SpaceflightNow reported that the landing module vented its remaining propellent, as a safety measure to ensure that the spacecraft is devoid of toxic chemicals when the astronauts will be brought out of the craft by technicians and medical personnel.

The crew landed on Earth at 11:05 am, after spending 90 days in space. 

By 11:55 am, the three crew members were safely out of the capsule. 

"Daddy and Mom, I'm back... I'm in great shape," astronaut Tang Hongbo was quoted as saying in a CGTN broadcast. 

What is next for the astronauts?

Huang Weifen, chief designer of China's manned space project, told state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) that the astronauts will undergo a 14-day quarantine before going home, "because their immune systems may have weakened after the long mission", according to the AFP report.

Chen Lan, an independent analyst at Go Taikonauts, which specialises in China's space programme, said the successful completion of the mission paves the way for future regular missions and utilisation of the Chinese space station. 

What does China plan to do next in Space?

The Chinese Space Agency plans to complete 11 launches before the end of 2022. These include three crewed missions to send two lab modules to expand the Chinese space station, which weighs 70 tonnes.

Tiangong, which means "heavenly palace", is expected to operate for at least 10 years. 

Chinese astronauts have been banned on the International Space Station by the US, and this is what is said to have fuelled Beijing's ambitions to become a space power.