Chinese Astronauts Return To Earth After Completing Six Months Space Mission

Beijing: China's Shenzhou-17 spacecraft returned to Earth Tuesday, carrying three astronauts who have completed a six-month mission aboard country's orbiting space station.

three, Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin, landed at Dongfeng site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in Gobi desert shortly before 6:00 pm (1000 GMT). It comes roughly four days after Shenzhou-18 mission docked with station with ir three-member replacement crew onboard.

China built its own space station after being excluded from International Space Station, largely because of US concerns over Chinese military's total control of space programme amid a sharpening competition in technology between two geopolitical rivals. This year, Chinese station is slated for two cargo spacecraft missions and two manned spaceflight missions.

China's ambitious space programme aims to put astronauts on moon by 2030, as well as bring back samples from Mars around same year and launch three lunar probe missions over next four years.

new crew is me up of Commander Ye Guangfu, 43, a veteran astronaut who took part in Shenzhou-13 mission in 2021, and fighter pilots Li Cong, 34, and Li Guangsu, 36, who are spaceflight rookies.

y will spend about six months on three modules of space station, Tiangong, which can accommodate up to six astronauts at a time. During ir stay, y will conduct scientific tests, install space debris protection equipment, carry out paylo experiments, and beam science classes to students on Earth.

China has also said that it eventually plans to offer access to its space station to foreign astronauts and space tourists. With ISS nearing end of its useful life, China could in future remain only country or corporation to maintain a crewed station in orbit.

China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003, becoming third country after former Soviet Union and US to put a person into space using its own resources. Tiangong was launched in 2021 and completed 18 months later.

US space programme is believed to still hold a significant edge over China's due to its spending, supply chains and capabilities. However, China has broken out in some areas, bringing samples back from lunar surface for first time in deces and landing a rover on less explored far side of moon.

US aims to put a crew back on lunar surface by end of 2025 as part of a renewed commitment to crewed missions, aided by private sector players such as SpaceX and Blue Origin.