– Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on April 30 after completing a six-month mission aboard China’s space station.
– Their Shenzhou-17 spacecraft landed in Inner Mongolia after undocking from the Tiangong space station four days prior.
– The astronauts – Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie, and Jiang Xinlin – spent six months conducting scientific experiments and technology tests aboard the orbiting outpost.
– Their mission was part of China’s ambitious space program, which aims to put astronauts on the Moon by 2030 and land probes on Mars.
– China built its own space station after being excluded from the International Space Station. The Tiangong station will see two cargo and two crewed missions this year.
– A new crew of three astronauts recently docked with the station onboard the Shenzhou-18 spacecraft to start their six-month mission.
Source: APNews
