The three Chinese astronauts on the Tiangong station are about to complete a six-month mission in orbit and begin preparing for their return trip to Earth.
Astronauts Ye Guangfu, Wang Yaping and Zhai Zhigang (from left to right) before launching into orbit last October. Photo: AFP
The trio of astronauts flying into orbit aboard the Shenzhou 13 spacecraft lived in the Tianhe core module of the Tiangong station for more than 160 days. They are expected to return to Earth in mid-April. The crew as well as the search and recovery team on the ground in Inner Mongolia are preparing for the return flight.
Astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu will bring back data from the experiment they conducted in orbit. Meanwhile, the cargo ship Tianzhou 2 providing crew supplies has separated from the space station and will soon re-enter the space, according to an announcement on March 27 by the China Manned Space Administration (CMSA). .
The Tianzhou 2 spacecraft will bring back trash from the space station in recent missions. When re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere, the ship will burn up with this garbage, according to Yang Hong, chief engineer of Thien Cung station.
Currently, the three astronauts will be busy with preparations for the next two weeks. They need to restore the cabin environment as thoroughly as possible. All exercise equipment, lab supplies, spare parts, and used items should be securely fastened to the walls of the space station to prevent it from floating in space. The crew will also check the remaining supplies to calculate the optimal amount of cargo to be transported via the Tianzhou 4 freighter later this year.
The trio will put the space station’s air purification and water regeneration systems on standby until the next crew arrives at the station. Wang is the second Chinese female astronaut to fly into space and the first to walk in space. She and her colleagues performed two spacewalks during the mission to install components outside the station. They also practiced emergency evacuation, moving to the regiosphere in a simulation of the core module that lost pressure after hitting space junk.
Chinese authorities aim to complete construction of the space station this year with two cargo and two manned missions. The Shenzhou 15 crew will conduct orbital rotation with colleagues from the Shenzhou 14 mission, meaning the Tiangong station will house six astronauts for the first time.
Thien Cung Station is 1/4 of the size of the International Space Station (ISS) built jointly by 16 countries. The station has a service life of more than 10 years by design and can be extended up to 15 years through maintenance.
An Khang (According to SCMP)
at Blogtuan.info – Source: vnexpress.net – Read the original article here
