China's ambitious space program reaches another milestone as the Shenzhou-19 crew prepares to conclude their six-month mission following the arrival of the Shenzhou-20 team at the Tiangong space station. The Dongfeng landing site in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has completed final readiness drills ahead of the astronauts' scheduled return on April 29.
During Friday's critical simulation, over 100 ground vehicles and five helicopters coordinated search-and-rescue operations, practicing rapid capsule recovery and astronaut extraction procedures. Crew members Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong, and Wang Haoze will complete 50 minutes of precise maneuvers during atmospheric re-entry before landing.
The mission coincides with new advancements in China's space capabilities, as the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft – launched Thursday from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center – successfully docked with Tiangong. This marks China's sixth in-orbit crew rotation, with the Shenzhou-19 and Shenzhou-20 teams collaborating for five days to transfer responsibilities and conduct joint experiments.
China's space station has now hosted 16 astronauts across multiple missions since 2021, demonstrating growing technical expertise in long-duration space habitation and orbital operations. The smooth coordination between ground teams at Dongfeng and mission control in Beijing underscores the program's operational maturity.
