Shenzhou 16 crew returns to Earth

After spending one-hundred and fifty-four days in space aboard China's Tiangong space station, the crew of Shenzhou 16 have safely returned to Earth. The Shenzhou 16 spacecraft performed a braking burn at 7:21 a.m. (Beijing time) am and the capsule touched down at 8:11 a.m. (Beijing time). The Shenzhou mission launched back on the 30th of May 2023.

During their stay, the crew carried out dozens of space experiments, delivered a lecture from the space station, and transferred cargo to and from the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft. Two members of the crew, Jing Haipeng and Zhu Yangzhu, also performed a spacewalk to install panoramic cameras on the Tianhe core module and Mengtian experiment module, the spacewalk lasted for almost eight hours.

Who were the crew of Shenzhou 16?

Taikonaut Jing Haipeng served as the Commander of the Shenzhou 16 mission, this was also his fourth trip to space. Jing Haipeng served previously in the People's Liberation Army Air Force as a fighter pilot and earning the rank of Major General.

Taikonaut Zhu Yangzhu served as the Flight Engineer of the Shenzhou 16 mission, this was his first trip to space. Zhu Yangzhu was previously an Associate Professor at the People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force Space Engineering University.

Taikonaut Gui Haichao served as the Payload Specialist of the Shenzhou 16 mission, this was also his first trip to space. Gui Haichao is also currently an Associate Professor at Beihang University, previously known as the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.