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China’s Shenzhou 19 astronauts return to Earth after 6 months aboard Tiangong space station (photos)

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China’s three-person Shenzhou 19 mission came home on Wednesday (April 30) after six months in orbit.

The Shenzhou 19 spacecraft — carrying astronauts Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze — undocked from the Tiangong space station on Tuesday (April 29) at 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT; 4 a.m. on April 30 China Standard Time), according to Chinese space officials.

The trio spent about nine hours in transit back to Earth, touching down at the Dongfeng landing site in northern China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Wednesday at about 1:08 a.m. EDT (0508 GMT; 1:08 p.m. China Standard Time). That was a day later than originally planned; the landing had been scheduled for Tuesday, but mission planners pushed it back due to windy weather at Dongfeng.

a golden space capsule descends through a blue sky beneath a large, red-and-white-striped parachute

The return capsule of China’s Shenzhou 19 astronaut mission descends through Earth’s atmosphere on April 30, 2025. (Image credit: CCTV/CMSA)

The Shenzhou 19 astronauts had been in space since Oct. 29, when they launched toward Tiangong. And they notched some notable milestones during that stretch.

For example, Cai, who was Shenzhou 19’s commander, and Song spent more than nine hours outside Tiangong during a mid-December spacewalk, setting a new record for the longest extravehicular activity.

an astronaut in a white spacesuit sits in a chair in a desert landscape shortly after landing

Shenzhou 19 commander Cai Xuzhe, seen shortly after landing on April 30, 2025. (Image credit: CCTV/CMSA)

The duo installed a new space debris shield on Tiangong during the super-long spacewalk. Cai and Song also conducted spacewalks on Jan. 20 and March 21, installing more shielding and inspecting extravehicular systems and equipment.



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