China Shenzhou-17 Astronaut & Mission Commander Tang Hongbo after Landing

China Shenzhou-17 Astronaut & Mission Commander Tang Hongbo after Landing

Chinese astronaut Tang Hongbo, commander of the Shenzhou-17 mission, returned to Earth from the China Space Station on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, after a six-month stay in space. 

Tang was the first of the three crew members of the spacecraft to emerge from the return capsule, after the module touched down the ground safely at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 17:46 Beijing Time, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

The landing came after Tang and his crew mates, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin, handed over control of the Tiangong Space Station to the newly arrived Shenzhou-18 crew on Sunday.

With his return, Tang has set the record for the longest time spent in orbit so far—279 days—among Chinese astronauts.

Upon landing, Tang said in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV) that he felt proud to have completed the six-month mission along with his two crew mates and that he missed his loved ones on Earth very much.

The Shenzhou-17's return capsule separated from its orbiting capsule at around 08:40 Beijing Time on Tuesday, as per the flight procedure.

Soon after the return capsule landed, the ground search team arrived at the landing site. Medical personnel confirmed that the crew members were in good health.

With the return of the crew, the Shenzhou-17 manned spaceflight mission was announced a complete success.

The Shenzhou-17 crew was launched into space on Oct 26, 2023, for their stay aboard the Tiangong Space Station. During their six-month-long mission, the trio witnessed the arrival of the Tianzhou-7 cargo spacecraft, completed two spacewalks, and carried out 84 in-orbit tests and space application experiments, and generated more than 200 samples, involving space life science and biotechnology, space medicine, space materials science and other fields.

Shenzhou-17 Crew:

Hongbo Tang (汤洪波, Commander)

Shengjie Tang (唐胜杰, Mission Specialist)

Xinlin Jiang (江新林, Mission Specialist)

Video Credit: CCTV

Duration: 1 minute, 33 seconds

Release Date: April 29, 2024

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