This is another successful step for Beijing in its ambitious space program to catch up with the United States, Europe and Russia.
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It is the longest stay ever made by China in space: the three astronauts of the Shenzhou-13 mission returned to Earth on Saturday April 16 after six months spent in the Chinese space station. This is another successful step for Beijing in its ambitious space program to catch up with the United States, Europe and Russia.
Live state television footage showed the capsule landing in the Inner Mongolian desert, in a large cloud of dust. The ground crew applauded the astronauts who took turns saying they felt “good”.
The crew was made up of three army pilots: commander Zhai Zhigang (55), his colleague Wang Yaping (42) – who became the first Chinese to carry out a spacewalk in November – and the youngest Ye Guangfu (41), whose first spaceflight it was.
With 183 days in space, the crew smashes the previous national record for a stay in space, which was 92 days and was set in 2021 during the previous manned mission, Shenzhou-12.
For specialists, the objective of this mission was less to establish a record than to develop the skills necessary for a permanent occupation of the Chinese orbital station. Named in Chinese Tiangong (“Heavenly Palace”) but also known by its English acronym CSS (for “Chinese Space Station” in French), it should be completed by the end of 2022. Similar in size to the former Russian-Soviet station Mir, its life must be about fifteen years.