TAIPEI, Taiwan. Three Chinese astronauts have successfully returned to Earth after spending six months aboard China’s orbiting space station. Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu, and Gui Haichao emerged in good health from their return capsule, which landed near the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert, as reported by the official Xinhua News Agency.
Last week, a new three-person crew arrived at the Tiangong space station. With the station essentially complete, the incoming crew will be tasked with conducting medical and scientific experiments and maintaining equipment.
China marked its first crewed space mission in 2003 and has ambitious plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030. The country has also achieved significant milestones in space exploration, including collecting lunar samples and deploying a rover to the less-explored far side of the moon. Future endeavors include launching a new telescope to delve deeper into the universe.
China embarked on the creation of its own space station after being excluded from the International Space Station, largely due to U.S. concerns regarding Chinese military control over the national space program. This has fueled a space race between China and the United States, with limited cooperation mandated by U.S. law. This competition extends into various domains, such as technology, trade, military, and diplomacy. China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea and its stance on self-governing Taiwan are additional points of contention.
Conversely, the U.S. has set its sights on returning astronauts to the lunar surface by the end of 2025, marking a renewed commitment to crewed missions. This effort is bolstered by the involvement of private sector companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin.
In parallel with lunar missions, both China and the U.S. have independently landed rovers on Mars, with China planning to follow the U.S. in landing a spacecraft on an asteroid. The rivalry in space exploration is emblematic of the broader competition between the world’s two largest economies, with outer space now a key arena for their aspirations and ambitions.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
