At 17:46 on April 30th, after a 187-day "business trip" in space, the crew of the manned spacecraft Shenzhou-17 returned to earth smoothly. Taking up the space dream of the Shenzhou family was the Shenzhou-18, which had already been in place for several days.
On April 25th, the "Divine Arrow" Long March 2F carrier rocket ignited at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, successfully sending the manned spacecraft Shenzhou-18 with three astronauts on board into the predetermined orbit with precision. China's first manned launch mission in 2024 was a complete success.
On April 26th, the manned spacecraft Shenzhou-18 successfully rendezvoused and docked with the Tianhe core module of the Chinese space station at the radial port, and the astronaut crew moved into the "Tiangong," reuniting with the crew of Shenzhou-17 for a "space union."
After completing the crew rotation in orbit, the crew of Shenzhou-18 will embark on a "business trip in space" lasting six months. During their stay in orbit, they will welcome the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft and the manned spacecraft Shenzhou-19, and are scheduled to return to the Dongfeng landing site in late October this year.
Shenzhou-18's "business trip in space" has many highlights. With an upgraded energy system, the battery capacity of the manned spacecraft Shenzhou-18 is larger, and the system reliability is higher, which will better support manned flight missions.
The Chinese space station will "raise fish" for the first time. The crew will conduct more than 90 experiments in areas such as microgravity basic physics, space materials science, and space life science. This includes the first domestic in-orbit aquatic ecological research project using zebrafish and Euglena gracilis as research subjects, as well as the first international in-orbit research on the functions of plant stem tip stem cells.
Planner | Cao Si
Coordinator | Zhang Zhe, Liu Zikui, Li Hengdan
Text | Li Hengdan, Deng Wei, Clarice
Video | Zhang Ruiwei, Chen Mingji, Axin
Editor | Nan, Will, James
