Shenzhou-18 Crew Capsule Re-entry over Xinjiang | China Space Station

Shenzhou-18 Crew Capsule Re-entry over Xinjiang | China Space Station

The return capsule of the Shenzhou-18 crewed spacecraft, carrying astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu, safely touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Monday, November 4, 2024, at 1:24am Beijing time. The three astronauts, after staying in orbit for 192 days, were all in good health and the Shenzhou-18 crewed mission was declared a success, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said.

The crew will enter a period of medical quarantine and undergo comprehensive medical examinations and health evaluations, it said, adding that they will meet with the press in Beijing afterward.

The Shenzhou-18 astronauts, Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu, were launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on April 25, 2024. They completed all planned tasks during their long duration mission that lasted over six months.

During the mission, the Shenzhou-18 crew conducted 100+ scientific experiments and tests and completed two spacewalks.

They became the country's first astronauts to bring fish into space, raising them in an experiment cabinet, while collecting water samples and fish eggs for research. They will bring back the samples with them. This is expected to provide valuable insights for scientists to study the life of vertebrates in space.

After the arrival of the Shenzhou-19 trio at the space station on Oct 30, 2024, the two crews each comprising three astronauts spent five days together in orbit. A handover ceremony was held Friday night in which Shenzhou-18 commander Ye Guangfu transferred the keys of the space station to Shenzhou-19 commander Cai Xuzhe.

Shenzhou-18 Crew:

Commander Ye Guangfu (叶光富)

Mission Specialist Li Cong (李聪)

Mission Specialist Li Guangsu (李广苏)

Video Credits: Zhang Jingyi, Tang Muzhi

Capture Location: Korla City in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region 

Duration: 20 seconds

Release Date: Nov. 3, 2024

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