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By Ma Miaomiao

Having extended the record of the longest taikonaut stay on a single flight mission in space to 90 days， the Shenzhou-12 crew returned to Earth four days before Chinas Mid-Autumn Festival， a day of family reunions and friendly gatherings， at the Dongfeng Landing Site in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on September 17.

The first manned flight during the construction of Chinas space station proved a complete success， announced the China Manned Space Agency（CMSA）.

The task was a great step forward in getting the Tiangong space station ready， Brad Tucker， an astrophysicist and cosmologist with Australian National University， told Xinhua News Agency.

“The taikonauts did a lot of work in preparing the Tiangong space station for full operation， with multiple spacewalks and upgrades，” he said.

Safe return

Under the command of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center （BACC）， the return capsule of Shenzhou-12 separated from the spaceships orbiting capsule at 12：43 p.m. The braking engine then ignited， and the return capsule separated from the propellant. After the return capsule touched down at 1：34 p.m.， the ground search team arrived at the landing site. Medical personnel then confirmed the taikonauts physical and mental wellbeing：
all had made it back safe and sound.

As it happened， this very special homecoming also marked taikonaut Liu Bomings birthday. “This is an unforgettable one. I was so fortunate and happy to have the chance to once again fly high up into the skies and take a walking tour of our own space station，” Liu， who first travelled to space in 2008， said.

They looked relaxed and waved to the ground crew after exiting the return capsule one hour and 40 minutes after touchdown. Later， the taikonauts were escorted onto a helicopter and flown to Beijing.

“The mission crew was subsequently provided with checkups， medical protective measures and nutrition plans. The goal is to get them back to the shape they were in prior to takeoff， or even better than that，”Wu Dawei， deputy chief designer of the Astronaut System of Chinas Manned Space Program， said.

The taikonauts are currently in quarantine， not for COVID-19 prevention and control purposes， but to undergo a comprehensive medical examination and health assessment， according to the CMSA. With the help of a professional medical team， they will readapt to gravity and the overall environment on Earth， restore body functions and improve immunity through multiple methods of exercise， diet and massage.

“I would describe today as perfect，” Sun Jun， mission chief of the Space Station Project at the BACC， told CGTN. “The entire Shenzhou-12 mission met the goals as originally mapped out， laying a solid foundation for the space stations future advancement.”

Wu said the whole system had been gearing up to this homecoming. The taikonauts started preparing for their return home a month ago， she added.“Just like going on a business trip， they neatly put everything together， making sure all things were left in good order， as the space station would have to run unmanned for some time to come.”

They packed up all the equipment and attached it to the cabin to prevent it from causing damage. All supplies and equipment inside the cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-2， too， were transferred into the space station core module Tianhe， as Tianzhou-2 will soon detach from Tianhe.

Solid footing

The three taikonauts embarked on their 90-day stay in outer space on June 17， when Shenzhou-12 was launched. After the spaceship docked with Tianhe， they entered the module. The taikonauts then tested key technologies for the construction and operation of the space station in regards to future long-term taikonaut residence， the recycling and life-support system， the supply of space materials， extravehicular activities （EVA） and in-orbit maintenance.

Chinese President Xi Jinping had a video talk with the taikonauts from the BACC on June 23. “The construction of the space station is a milestone in Chinas space industry， which will make pioneering contributions to the peaceful use of space by humanity，” Xi said.

During their mission， the astronauts completed EVA on two separate occasions. The first one， undertaken by Liu and Tang Hongbo on July 4， took approximately seven hours， completing tasks including equipment installation and panoramic camera lifting.

Nie Haisheng and Liu carried out the second one on August 20， installing extravehicular extended pump sets and lifting a panoramic camera during the about six hours of EVA.

The EVAs tested the performance and function of the new-generation homemade extravehicular mobility units and the coordination between taikonauts and the mechanical arm， designed to help in the assembling， constructing， maintaining and repairing of the space station and its supporting space applications， as well as the reliability and safety of related EVA backup equipment.

During their time in orbit， the taikonauts managed to snap some amazing shots of Earth.

“I believe that with the continuous development of comprehensive strength and national science and technology level， there will be more taikonauts setting new records and pushing Chinas space work to new heights，” Nie said.

As the International Space Station， run by the space agencies of Europe， the U.S.， Russia， Canada and Japan， had started to show its age， Tucker said，“It was important Tiangong could operate and perform scientific experiments well into the future， which was exactly what the taikonauts 90-day mission aimed to achieve.”

“It means that in the future， it wont just be the International Space Station that can host experiments from around the world；

so can the Tiangong space station，” he said.

Missions on the horizon

Soon after the return of the astronauts， the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft was launched on September 20. Moreover， the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceship will be launched later this October to dock with Tianhe. Another three taikonauts will then live and work in orbit for an even longer stay of six months.

Before its return， Shenzhou-12 also pulled off a vertical docking experiment shortly after separating from Tianhe to verify its capability in this aspect. Vertical docking with the space station complex will be conducted by the Shenzhou-13 mission.

Yao Yuanfu， chief designer of the rendezvous and docking microwave radar system of the Shenzhou-13 spacecraft， told Global Times that the electromagnetic environment will be much more complicated than that of Shenzhou-12， as by that point the space station will feature more docked spacecraft， which will make each docking more complex.

Following the five launch missions scheduled for this year， China plans to undertake six more missions in 2022， including the launch of the Wentian and Mengtian lab modules， two cargo spacecraft and two crewed spaceships， to complete the construction of the Tiangong space station. BR

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