Three Chinese astronauts, Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo, who were sent into
space onboard the Shenzhou-12 spaceship for the space station construction mission on June 17,
departed from the Tianhe core module of China’s space station about 400 kilometers above the
Earth and landed successfully at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia
autonomous region on Sept. 17, 2021, Beijing time.
The successful manned mission marks the second time within five years that China’s Shenzhou
manned spaceships have taken Chinese astronauts to space and brought them back home safely,
represents the complete success of China’s first crewed space flight during the construction of the
country’s Tiangong space station, and bears great significance for the country’s advancing its
space station project as planned.
Spending 90 days at the space station, the Shenzhou-12 crew have set a new record for China’s
manned space mission duration and gained rich experience for future space flights.
From the big smile on the faces of the three astronauts after their landing on the Earth, people saw
another stride of China on its space exploration journey.
As China’s first manned space flight mission during the construction of the Tiangong space
station, Shenzhou-12 manned space mission is of profound significance and has achieved rich
fruits.
From building Chinese people’s “new home in space” to entering the space station and carrying
out extravehicular activities twice in one space mission, and from one day of the Shenzhou-5 to 90
days of the Shenzhou-12 in space, China’s footprints in outer space represent the progress of its
space program and the results of the efforts of people working for the program.
As bigger and bigger leaps were made in space technology and more and more challenging tasks
were completed during China’s seven crewed missions to space, Chinese astronauts’ living and
working conditions in space were improved constantly. Meanwhile, their sense of responsibility,
perseverance, and resolve to strive for sci-tech self-reliance and self-strengthening have never
changed.
Young aerospace workers of the country, who are calm and confident, have fully demonstrated the
spirit of aerospace in their work. They give instructions to start the countdown for the launch of
satellites in a clear voice and with confidence, are scrupulous about every little detail in the
assembly of satellites and spaceships, and work wholeheartedly so that the astronauts can get out
of the return capsules safely.
It is countless Chinese aerospace workers, either at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in
northwest China, the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China’s Hainan province, or
spacecraft monitoring and control stations and space tracking ships on the ocean, who have helped
send astronauts into space and build the Tiangong space station.
To greet astronauts in the most reliable, safest, and warmest way when they return home, members
of the search and rescue team of the landing sites prepare themselves for tasks all year round.
They often pass through depopulated areas and brave storms, freezing cold and intense heat on
plateaus, grasslands, and in deserts, eventually equipping themselves with excellent search and
rescue skills.
