Three Chinese astronauts return to Earth after 6 months in space

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Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Monday after a six-month stay on the Tiangong space station.

The Shenzhou-18 crew, consisting of astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu, landed at 1:24 a.m. local time in the Inner Mongolia region.

Chinese government media outlet Xinhua said all three astronauts were in good health and called the mission a success.

The astronauts carried out dozens of experiments on space medicine, fundamental physics and space life sciences during their stay in space, Xinhua said.

The astronauts are returning after welcoming a new crew of three last week for another six-month stay.

The new team, made up of one woman and two men, will conduct experiments, perform spacewalks and install equipment to protect the station from space debris.

The Tiangong space station was completed two years ago and orbits the Earth. Its crew takes turns every six months.

China is excluded from the International Space Station program, where astronauts from other countries travel, due to U.S. concerns about the military’s involvement in the country’s space program.

So far, the Chinese space station has only hosted Chinese astronauts, but a space agency spokesperson said discussions were underway to select and train astronauts from other countries, the Chinese government media Xinhua.

The missions to the Chinese space station are part of China’s broader aspirations to become a leader in space science research by 2050.

Beijing, which has injected billions of euros to develop its space programs, also aims to send a manned mission to the Moon by 2030 and build a scientific research base there.

In 2019, China landed a spacecraft on the far side of the Moon, a world first.