Skip to main content

Three astronauts land safely after China’s longest crewed space mission to date

Three Chinese astronauts have returned safely from space following a three-month stay at the new Tiangong space station which is currently under construction. Tang Hongbo, Nie Haisheng, and Liu Boming landed on Friday, September 18. This marks the longest ever crewed space mission for China at 92 days, far exceeding the previous record of the Shenzhou 11 mission in 2016 which lasted for 33 days.

The astronauts are safe and well and in good physical condition, according to the China Manned Space Agency, which described the mission overall as “a complete success.” Having landed at the Dongfeng landing site, the astronauts have since been transferred to Beijing where they arrived by plane on Friday night.

Astronauts Nie Haisheng (C), Liu Boming (R) and Tang Hongbo are out of the return capsule of the Shenzhou-12 spaceship at the Dongfeng landing site.
Astronauts Nie Haisheng (C), Liu Boming (R) and Tang Hongbo are out of the return capsule of the Shenzhou-12 spaceship at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Sept. 17, 2021. Three Chinese astronauts, the first sent to orbit for space station construction, have completed their three-month mission and returned to Earth safely on Friday. Xinhua/Lian Zhen

“Three Chinese astronauts, the first sent to orbit for space station construction, have completed their three-month mission and returned to Earth safely on Friday,” Chinese state news agency Xinhua wrote in a brief statement. “The return capsule of the Shenzhou-12 manned spaceship, carrying astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).”

The astronauts spent three months in space under the Shenzhou-12 mission, working on China’s new space station. The first module of the new Tiangong space station was launched in April this year, weighing 22 tons and coming in at around the size of a five-story building. A first cargo mission to the new station was completed in May, in preparation for the first astronauts arriving there.

The three astronauts then launched in June, marking China’s first crewed space mission in five years. During their time on the station, they performed two spacewalks to install equipment on the outside of the structure and carried out scientific experiments.

This was the first of four planned crewed missions to the station during its construction period, with aims to have it completed by 2022.

Editors' Recommendations

Georgina Torbet
Georgina is the Digital Trends space writer, covering human space exploration, planetary science, and cosmology. She…
SpaceX Crew-6 splash down after 6 months in orbit
spacex crew 6 splash down after six months in orbit return

Four astronauts aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule have splashed down off the coast of Florida after undocking from the International Space Station (ISS) 17 hours earlier.

NASA live streamed the key moments of the homecoming, including the undocking and the final moments before splashdown at about 12:20 a.m. ET on Monday morning. Footage from both events can be viewed below, with the first clip showing the Crew Dragon's Draco engines firing as the vehicle moves away from the station:

Read more
Crew-7 astronauts launch on mission to the International Space Station
A rocket is launched to the International Space Station at 3:27 a.m. EDT Saturday, Aug. 26, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The International Space Station (ISS) will soon be getting some new visitors, as four astronauts of the SpaceX Crew-7 mission began their journey to the station at 3:27 a.m. today, Saturday, August 26. Launched using a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center, the crew will travel in their Crew Dragon spacecraft throughout the day before arriving at the ISS tomorrow.

An international crew of four representing four countries is in orbit following a successful launch to the International Space Station at 3:27 a.m. EDT Saturday, Aug. 26, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The agency’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission is the seventh commercial crew rotation mission for NASA. NASA

Read more
NASA reveals new date for Crew-7 mission to space station
The International Space Station pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly-around of the orbiting lab.

The four crew members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission inside SpaceX Hangar X at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. From left to right: Konstantin Borisov, Andreas Mogensen, Jasmin Moghbeli, and Satoshi Furukawa. SpaceX

UPDATE: NASA had moved the targeted launch date from August 17 to August 21. But it's now targeting Friday, August 25. This article has been updated to reflect the change.

Read more