The Shenzhou-14 crew has achieved a slew of breakthroughs in China's space exploration as the mission checked a list of tasks to help assemble the country's space station.
The Shenzhou-14 mission rang down the curtain as its three taikonauts safely landed in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Sunday night after 183 days in space.
Under their watch, the space station saw nine assembly formations as well as five dockings with other spacecraft, three instances of separation and two transpositions. The mission members conducted three extravehicular activities – a record number.
The mission collaborated with the ground to complete the basic T-shaped structure of the China Space Station, with the Tianhe core module in the center and the Wentian and Mengtian lab modules on each side.
The crew helped install and activate multiple experiment cabins in the two lab modules and conducted dozens of experiments and technology verifications.
They also carried out massive maintenance and management tasks to keep the space station functioning well.
Medics carry out physical checks on Shenzhou-14 crew after the spacecraft touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, December 4, 2022. /CFP
The Shenzhou-14 crew, who took off to space on June 5, is dubbed the "busiest crew" of China's manned space program.
They have accomplished a number of "firsts" that will be written in the country's space progress.
July 25, 2022
The core module of China's space station and Wentian lab module, both weighing over 20 tonnes, docked in orbit.
Screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on September 1, 2022, shows Shenzhou-14 astronauts Chen Dong (top), Liu Yang conducting extravehicular activities (EVAs) out of the space station lab module Wentian. /Xinhua
September 1, 2022
The Shenzhou-14 crew exited from the airlock cabin of the Wentian lab module for the first time to carry out extravehicular activities (EVAs) with the help of a small robotic arm. In previous missions, the taikonauts exited from the Tianhe core module.
September 30, 2022
The Wentian lab module completed an in-orbit transposition for the first time.
October 12, 2022
The Shenzhou-14 crew delivered the first educational science session from the Wentian lab module to the ground.
November 3, 2022
The Shenzhou-14 crew entered the Mengtian lab module. For the first time, the taikonauts could work in all three modules of the China Space Station, including the core module and two lab modules.
November 12, 2022
The Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft docked with the China Space Station about two hours after its launch, a record time in the world.
It was also the first time that a cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-5 was sent to the space station while taikonauts were in orbit.
November 17, 2022
The Shenzhou-14 crew conducted their third spacewalk. It was the first round of EVAs after the space station's basic T-shape configuration.
For the first time a small robotic arm linked up with the bigger robotic arm in a total length of 15 meters to support taikonauts' tasks, expanding the scope of the space activities.
The Shenzhou-14 mission made an unprecedented total of three spacewalks.
November 30, 2022
The Shenzhou-14 crew welcomed another team, Shenzhou-15, at the space station, a historic gathering in orbit for China's space exploration.
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