Chinese astronauts back from six

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(Xinhua) 09:00, May 01, 2025

The return capsule of the Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship, carrying astronauts Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, touches down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, April 30, 2025. The three astronauts are all in good health condition, according to the China Manned Space Agency. (Xinhua/Ma Jinrui)

JIUQUAN, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The return capsule of the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft landed smoothly Wednesday in the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, with the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) declaring the mission a success.

By 2:02 p.m., the Shenzhou-19 crew, Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, had all left the return capsule. They had spent 183 days in orbit and are all in good health, the CMSA said.

The mission set a world record for the longest single-time extravehicular activities (EVAs), and witnessed two historic milestones, namely, Commander Cai Xuzhe fulfilling the most EVA tasks to date in China and the nation's first female flight engineer aboard the Tiangong space station.

Cai has carried out five EVAs in two spaceflight missions, meaning he has completed more EVAs than any other Chinese astronaut.

"Gazing at the beautiful blue planet countless times in space, I am constantly reminded that this is our shared home, one that we must all work together to protect," said the 48-year-old mission commander, sitting in a chair in front of the capsule.

Astronaut Cai Xuzhe is out of the return capsule of the Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, April 30, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

Song Lingdong is the first post-90s Chinese astronaut to conduct EVAs.

"We have transformed the dedication and hard work of all the researchers into fruitful scientific achievements," said Song. "We are extremely proud of that."

Wang Haoze is China's first female spaceflight engineer to enter the space station.

"It feels wonderful to be home, to feel the solid ground beneath my feet once again," said Wang. "I am now confident and capable of taking on even more challenging tasks in the future."

The Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship, launched in October 2024, separated from the space station combination at 4 a.m. After undocking from Tiangong, the spacecraft executed a fast return mode, said Mao Yongjun, an expert from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

At 12:17 p.m. (Beijing Time), the Beijing Aerospace Control Center issued a return command through the ground station, and the orbital capsule of the Shenzhou-19 spaceship separated from the return capsule.

Then the brake engine ignited, and the return capsule separated from the propulsion capsule. The return capsule touched down at 1:08 p.m. at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the CMSA said.

The return of the Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship, originally scheduled for Tuesday, had been postponed due to unfavorable wind conditions at the Dongfeng landing site, according to the CMSA.

This return mission featured two technological improvements. Helicopters and search vehicles were equipped with BDS-3 terminals, thus enhancing positioning accuracy and efficiency for ground recovery, Mao said.

According to Mao, a laser meteorological radar was installed near the landing site to obtain detailed wind field data, boosting forecast accuracy from kilometers to within hundreds of meters.

Astronaut Song Lingdong is out of the return capsule of the Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, April 30, 2025. (Xinhua/Bei He)

LONGEST SPACEWALK

During the mission, the Shenzhou-19 crew completed three EVAs, setting a world duration record of nine hours for single-time EVAs, said CMSA spokesperson Lin Xiqiang at a previous press conference.

The crew successfully resolved an unexpected payload adapter jamming problem during their first EVA, ensuring the success of subsequent experiments, Lin said.

China's Feitian ("Flying in Space") extravehicular suits have demonstrated exceptional reliability, having been used for 19 EVAs since the Shenzhou-12 mission, and the most frequently worn suit has been used 17 times, according to Lin.

Lin said that the space station's robotic arms, which can be connected and "crawl" on the exterior of the space cabins due to their unique designs, enable astronauts to access all EVA areas.

Additionally, the coordination support system between space and ground has been refined to provide robust professional backing for EVA planning, real-time control, cross-system collaboration and emergency response.