The Shenzhou 13 spacecraft landed in the Inner Mongolia Desert at 9:56 a.m. local time on Saturday morning, departing from the Tianhe space station’s core unit about nine hours before. The crew took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert last October and spent a total of 183 days on the space station. Wang Yaping made history as the first Chinese woman to take a space walk Not only is this mission the longest in China, but diver Wang Yaping made history as the first Chinese woman to visit the Tianhe space station and become the first Chinese woman to take a spacewalk. Wang was accompanied by his crew comrade Ye Guangfu and Commander Zhai Zhigang. The trio took a total of two space walks, conducted various experiments around the station, as well as two live lectures for students watching from Earth. Shenzhou 13 is part of 11 missions planned by China to complete the construction of the Tiangong space station. China first launched the Tianhe unit in April 2021 and later sent three sailors to bring the station to the internet. According to Space.com, the Shenzhou 14 crew is due to leave for the space station sometime in June. China plans to complete the plant by the end of the year, which will include the launch of two additional units. While six months on a space station sounds like a long time, it is the standard schedule for missions to the International Space Station, from which China is exempt. NASA astronaut Mark Van de Hei, who just returned to Earth last month, currently holds the record for the longest continuous stay in space at 355 days.
