China's Shenzhou 21 lands in Inner Mongolia after record mission
After spending nearly seven months aboard the Tiangong space station, three Chinese astronauts, Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, and Zhang Hongzhang, are finally back on Earth.
Their Shenzhou 21 spacecraft landed safely in Inner Mongolia on Friday, marking China's longest crewed spaceflight so far and pushing the country closer to its big goal: a lunar landing by 2030.
Shenzhou 21 crew completed 3 spacewalks
During their stay, the crew tackled three spacewalks (with Zhang Lu breaking records by doing seven total), handled experiments, moved supplies around, and got Tiangong ready for future missions.
Before heading home, they teamed up with the incoming Shenzhou 23 crew, including Lai Ka-ying, who made history as Hong Kong's first astronaut.
China's space program is moving fast; one astronaut will now stay at Tiangong for a full year as part of their next steps.