China’s Shenzhou-21 crew has returned to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft after seven months in space, longer than the usual six-month mission aboard the Tiangong space station.
Recent Shenzhou missions have rotated teams of three astronauts on the station about every six months.
China launched the unmanned Shenzhou-22 spacecraft urgently late last year after a suspected space debris strike damaged the Shenzhou-20 return capsule, making it unsafe for re-entry and leaving the previous crew briefly stranded aboard the station. They later returned aboard Shenzhou-21.
Shenzhou-23, carrying three astronauts, blasted off on May 24
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