HELSINKI — China’s three Shenzhou-19 mission astronauts are safely back on the ground following a six-month-mission aboard the Tiangong space station.
Astronauts Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze touched down in their Shenzhou reentry capsule at 1:08 a.m. Eastern (0508 UTC), April 30, within the Dongfeng landing area in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, near the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
Recovery crews reached the capsule moments after landing, and the astronauts exited within the hour. The safe landing brings to an end the 183-day-long mission, with all astronauts reporting themselves to be well.
“At this moment, I feel incredibly proud, happy, and full of anticipation,” said Song, after his first flight to space, according to China Central Television (CCTV). “We’ve transformed the dedication and hard work of all our researchers into scientific research achievements, and we are very proud of that.”
Song added that it was a blessing to serve his country in space, and looked forward to being reunited with his family, whom he missed night and day.
“In space, we gazed at the beautiful blue planet countless times,” said mission commander Cai. “This is the common home for humanity and needs to be protected by all of us together.”
Cai has now accumulated around 365 days in space across two missions, putting him second behind only Ye Guangfu in terms of time in orbit for Chinese astronauts. The Shenzhou-19 mission also saw Cai embark on three extravehicular activities, or spacewalks, meaning he has completed five overall, a national record.
The Shenzhou-19 crew spacecraft carrying the trio undocked from the Tiangong space station at 4:00 p.m. Eastern (2000 UTC), April 29, according to the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO). The undocking and subsequent landing were earlier planned for roughly a day earlier, but both events were delayed due to poor weather at Dongfeng.
Shenzhou-19 launched Oct. 29 on a Long March 2F rocket from Jiuquan and arrived at Tiangong 6.5 hours later, greeted by the outgoing Shenzhou-18 crew. After their six months aboard Tiangong, the Shenzhou-19 crew likewise handed over control to the Shenzhou-20 crew April 28, after their arrival at the space station April 24. The handover included the ceremonial passing of a symbolic key.
The Shenzhou-19 mission was China’s 14th crewed spaceflight mission. The crew conducted three extravehicular activities, including a spacewalk in December 2024 which set a new world record for duration. The crew carried out science experiments and projects, including a number related to life sciences, such as studying fruit flies in a sub-magnetic facility.
China approved its space station plan in 1992, which kicked off efforts to develop human spaceflight capabilities and small test space labs. The country began building the three-module, T-shaped Tiangong in 2021 with the Tianhe core module, and added two science experiment modules in 2022. It plans to keep the orbital outpost permanently occupied for at least a decade.
China is preparing to expand Tiangong in the coming years. The first move will be sending a multi-functional expansion module with six docking ports to the orbital outpost. This expansion could allow for greater possibilities for international, tourist and commercial visits without disrupting core operations.
The first international astronaut to travel to Tiangong is expected to come from Pakistan. CMSEO and the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) signed an agreement on training and flights in February.
