By 
October 30th, 2023
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space
The Shenzhou-16 astronauts handed over control of the Tiangong space station to the newly arrived Shenzhou-17 crew on Sunday.
Tang Hongbo, the commander of Shenzhou-17 mission, took over the key to the hatch door of the Tiangong space station at the handover ceremony.
Due to return to Earth on October 31 is the Shenzhou-16 crew members Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao (October 30, 8:11 pm Eastern Daylight Time EDT).
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space
The crew-carrying spaceship will parachute into the Dongfeng Landing Site, located in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Search and rescue practice
This will be the fifth mission the landing site has conducted to recover a crewed spacecraft and the crew.
Ground personnel have undergone various search and rescue exercises for the upcoming mission.
Remaining in Earth orbit, the Shenzhou-17 crew, consisting of mission commander Tang and astronauts Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin, will stay in orbit for about six months.
A video of the handover ceremony is available at:
Posted in Space News
