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We will discuss about the China’s recently launched Shenzhou-12 Manned Mission in this article.
On 17 June 2021, China launched its spaceflight named Shenzhou 12. Shenzhou-12, meaning ‘Divine Vessel’, will be the third of the 11 missions required to complete China’s Space Station by 2022. The flight marks the seventh crewed Chinese spaceflight and the seventh crewed flight of the Shenzhou program.
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Aim of the mission
The primary objective for Commander and his team on the Shenzhou-12 mission is to bring the 22.5-tonne Tianhe module into service.
The three astronauts are heading to the Tianhe station for a three-month stay in its main living compartment .They will carry out experiments, test equipment, conduct maintenance and will prepare the station for receiving two additional modules in 2022.
It will help test technologies associated with long-term astronaut stays and health care, the recycling and life network, the availability of space materials, extravehicular activities and operations, and in-orbit maintenance.
Highlights of the mission
- The three astronauts are travelling in Shenzhou-12 spaceship which was launched by a Long March-2F Y12 rocket.
- It blasted off shortly after the target time of 9.22 am from the Jiuquan launch center in Northwestern China.
- The Shenzhou-12 craft connected with the Tianhe space platform module about six hours after takeoff from the Jiuquan launch center in Gobi.
- China is that the third country after the previous Soviet Union and therefore the US to hold out a manned mission on its own.
- China’s longest crewed space mission so far.
- At least five more missions are planned for the year, with the Shenzhou-13 manned mission, also carrying three astronauts, set for later this year.
- The crew of Shenzhou-12 is to live on the Tianhe, ‘Harmony of the Heavens’, a cylinder that is 16.6 meters long and 4.3 meters in diameter.
Who are the three men?
The three men are Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo. Nie Haisheng, 56, is said to be China’s oldest astronaut in space. He is a veteran of two previous flights, which included a 15-day visit in 2013 to the prototype space station, Tiangong-1. Liu Boming, 54, was part of the Shenzhou-7 mission, and Tang Hongbo, 45, is in his first space mission.
Other recent missions of China
- China’s Mars Probe: In May 2021 China’s Tianwen spacecraft landed on Mars carrying a rover, the Zhurong. It will conduct scientific investigations into the planet’s soil, geological structure, environment, atmosphere and water.
- China’s Moon Probe: In November 2020, Chang’e-5 mission landed on the moon’s less explored far side. It brought back the first lunar samples by any country’s space program since the 1970s.
China’s Space Station
The new multi-module Tiangong station is set to be operational for at least 10 years. Tianhe is one of three main components of what would be China’s first self-developed space station. The space station will operate in low-Earth orbit at an altitude of 340-450 km above Earth’s surface. It shall aid China’s aim to become a major space power by 2030.
About International Space Station (ISS)
ISS is a joint project between five participating space agencies. The ISS is backed by the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada. China is not a part of International Space Station (ISS). It is mainly due US objections.
With this we come to the end of this article. Hope you learnt some new facts about China’s Space Mission.
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