Return to Earth marks another milestone for space program
Print Edition
CHINA’S Shenzhou-11 spacecraft returned to Earth yesterday, bringing home two astronauts from the nation’s longest orbital mission so far and reaching another milestone in the nation’s ambitious space program.
China Central Television showed the return capsule’s separation from the Tiangong-2 space lab 393 kilometers above the Earth, and its descent through the atmosphere to its landing on grassland in Inner Mongolia in the country’s north.
After it landed, personnel rushed to plant two red flags beside the capsule while observers applauded in China’s mission control.
CCTV later showed footage of Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong being carried out of the capsule and waving as staff wrapped them in blue blankets.
They did not emerge from the capsule right away as CCTV said they were undergoing medical examinations, but mission commander Zhang Youxia, who is also a senior military official, said in a televised speech that they were in “good condition.”
It was the third space mission for 50-year-old veteran Jing Haipeng, commander of the crew.
He had taken part in the Shenzhou-7 and Shenzhou-9 missions. It was the first space mission for Chen Dong, 38.
Zhang said the mission was a “complete success.”
In a congratulatory message, the Communist Party’s Central Committee, the State Council and the Central Military Commission said the success of the mission “indicates that our manned space program has achieved major new progress and is the latest achievement in building a country of innovation and a world power of science and technology.”
The message, read out by Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli at the space flight control center in Beijing, added: “It is the newest achievement of Chinese people in climbing the peak of the world.”
The men spent the 33-day mission orbiting the Earth carrying out experiments that included cultivating silkworms, growing lettuce, and testing brain activity.
The Tiangong-2 space lab, launched in September, is also running experiments on growing rice and thale cress.
Tiangong-2, or Heavenly Palace-2, will remain in orbit and next docks with Tianzhou-1, China’s first cargo spacecraft, set to be launched next April.
China will launch a “core module” for its first space station some time around 2018, a senior official said in April, part of a plan for a permanent manned space station in service around 2022.
In their final entry in a space diary published by Xinhua news agency, the astronauts wrote that they kept fit in space by doing somersaults and zero-gravity tai chi.
“At the end of a busy day, we have some free time before going to bed,” they wrote. “We take selfies to have some personal record of this unforgettable journey, or just go to the window and quietly stare at that beautiful blue planet called Earth.”
China eventually hopes to put one of its citizens on the surface of the moon. Its first lunar rover was launched in late 2013, and while it was beset by mechanical troubles it far outlived its expected lifespan, finally shutting down only last month.
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