Two Chinese astronauts successfully made it back to Earth on Friday, Nov. 18, after spending 30 days in orbit aboard the Tiangong-2 space laboratory.
Astronauts Chen Dong and Jing Haipeng were sent to space on Oct. 18 to work and live on the Tiangong-2, or "heavenly vessel," for an entire month. The two men have since completed their mission and returned to Earth, notching the longest space mission in China's history along the way.
Chen and Jing boarded a Shenzhou-11 spacecraft reentry module, which detached from the orbital facility on Thursday, Nov. 17. The astronauts made their touchdown in Inner Mongolia on Friday at around 2:15 p.m. local time (1:15 a.m. ET).
The astronauts did not emerge from the spacecraft after landing as they were both immediately subjected to medical examination, according to state-run television broadcaster China Central Television.
Zhang Youxia, chief commander of the Tiangong-2 space mission, said Chen and Jing were both in good condition.
China's Space Plans
China has spent billions of dollars to advance its space program in the hopes of becoming a space power in the future. One of its primary goals is to establish an orbital facility that would replace the International Space Station once it retires in 2024.
The Tiangong-2 was launched back on Sept. 15 and remained unmanned until Chen and Jing's arrival back in October.
Following the completion of the astronauts' mission, the space lab will remain in orbit for the next few months. It will then dock with the Tianzhou 1 cargo spacecraft, which will be sent into space in April 2017.
"Tiangong is a precursor testbed of capabilities," Joan Johnson-Freese, a space security professor at the U.S. Naval War College, said. "Building toward the large space station has always been the culminating goal of the Shenzhou program."
In 2013, three Chinese astronauts were sent into space to spend 15 days onboard another space lab, the Tiangong 1.
While Beijing insists that its space program is designed for peaceful purposes, the U.S. Defense Department believes its real goal in increasing its space capabilities is to prevent other nations from pursuing similar activities.
China has made considerable developments in its space program for scientific, commercial and even military purposes. However, it still trails fellow superpowers Russia and the United States as far as achievements in space go.
Aside from building its own space station, the Chinese government also plans to send a manned mission to the moon and a robotic space probe to Mars.
