Chinese Shenzhou-20 Astronauts back on earth!
Beijing, Nov 14 (EFE).-
The Chinese crew of the Shenzhou-20 mission landed on Friday in Dongfeng field, northern Inner Mongolia, aboard the Shenzhou-21 ship, after its own return capsule was disabled due to damage caused by space debris.
The capsule carrying them touched down at 4.40pm local time, Chinese state media reported.
After the hatch was opened, medical staff confirmed at the landing site that Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie were in good physical condition.
The crew spent 204 days in orbit, a period that sets a new record for a single team of Chinese astronauts.
During the mission they performed four extravehicular exits and multiple load transfer operations, as well as numerous experiments in areas such as microgravity physics, materials science and space biology.
The three astronauts returned on Shenzhou-21 after technicians detected microfissures in the glass of one of the windows of the Shenzhou-20 capsule, probably caused by the impact of space debris.
The damage left the spacecraft “unfit” for safe manned descent, so it will remain in orbit for testing, according to Chinese space program officials.
The Shenzhou-21 arrived on Nov. 1 with the relief crew and remained docked to the Chinese space station, the Tiangong, as an emergency vehicle.
Launched in April, the crew of the Shenzhou-20 has completed more than six months in orbit by conducting scientific experiments and technical tests aimed at consolidating the operation of Tiangong.
The Tiangong is designed to operate for at least ten years and could become the only inhabited space station in the world once the International Space Station, scheduled for the end of this decade, is decommissioned. EFE
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