Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Shenzhou-17 liftoff. Image credit: CCTV/CNSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab

China’s Shenzhou-16 crew is preparing for touchdown at the Dongfeng Landing Site in Inner Mongolia’s Gobi desert in north China.

The trio of taikonauts — Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao – are slated to land there on Tuesday after a five-month stay in space, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

Shenzhou-16 and Shenzhou-17 crews now onboard the Tiangong space station. Image credit: CMS/Inside Outer Space screengrab

At the landing site, recovery teams are practicing for the crew return to Earth.

Final drills

According to China Central Television (CCTV) more than 10 search and rescue groups, five helicopters and nearly 100 vehicles with different functions are in final drills.

Equipment used at the ground site has been improved to ensure efficient search for and safe arrival of the Shenzhou-16 crew in a landing zone with complex topography.

The landing site near the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center was put into practical use in September 2021, when it received the return of three astronauts of the Shenzhou-12 crewed space mission.

Earth orbit is a junkyard of human-made space clutter.
Credit: Space Junk 3D, LLC. Melrae Pictures (used with permission)

Space debris repairs

Meanwhile, newly-arrived Shenzhou-17 crew members — mission commander Senior Colonel Tang Hongbo, Lieutenant Colonel Tang Shengjie and Lieutenant Colonel Jiang Xinlin – are taking over management of China’s Tiangong space station.

Among their duties during a projected six-month orbital journey, Tang’s crew will perform experimental repair operations during spacewalks to help sustain space debris impacts on the orbital complex.

CCTV reports that the solar arrays on the Tiangong have already been slightly damaged by debris.