China’s Shenzhou-21 Crew Returns After Seven-Month Space Mission

Three Chinese astronauts aboard the Shenzhou-21 mission returned safely to Earth on Friday after spending nearly seven months at China’s Tiangong space station, as Beijing continues to expand its ambitious space programme and push towards a planned Moon landing by 2030.

The return capsule carrying astronauts Zhang Lu , Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia region on Friday evening, according to the official Xinhua News Agency .

During their stay in orbit, the crew carried out a series of scientific and operational tasks, including processing and transmitting experimental data, conducting maintenance work and transferring remaining supplies. They also completed a handover with the incoming Shenzhou-23 crew, which arrived at the space station earlier this week.

Chinese authorities said the astronauts conducted three spacewalks during the mission. Space agency spokesperson Zhang Jingbo said veteran astronaut Zhang Lu has now completed seven spacewalk operations across missions, the highest by any Chinese astronaut so far.

The newly arrived Shenzhou-23 crew includes commander Zhu Yangzhu , Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying , also known as Li Jiaying in Mandarin. Lai, who was born and raised in Hong Kong, became the first astronaut from the city to join a Chinese space mission.

China has rapidly expanded its independent space capabilities after being excluded from the International Space Station programme over US national security concerns. The country has since developed the Tiangong space station and carried out multiple long-duration crewed missions.

The United States remains China’s main rival in space exploration, with NASA aiming to send astronauts back to the Moon by 2028.