BEIJING: The three astronauts of China’s Shenzhou-14 crewed mission met the press on Friday, the first such appearance after returning to Earth in December.
The astronauts have completed the stages of quarantine and recuperation and switched to the observation stage, according to the press conference held at the Astronaut Center of China in Beijing.
At present, the crew are in good physical and mental condition. Their weight is at the same level as before the flight, and they have further restored their muscle strength, endurance and cardio functions.
They will resume their regular training after completing the health assessment. On the other hand, Pakistan sent sets of seeds from seven medicinal plant species to Tiangong aboard China’s Shenzhou 14 spacecraft in June last year. The experiment sought to bring about beneficial mutations in the seeds’ genes by exposing them to cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Shenzhou 14 and its crew returned to Earth on Dec. 4. A ceremony celebrating the return of plant seeds from Tiangong was held in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Feb. 8. The seeds are to aid Pakistan’s research into developing more environmentally tolerant seeds. Pakistani scientists planned to plant these seeds and ordinary seeds at the same time to conduct comparative research on genes and growth characteristics, according to CCTV.
China has itself long sent seeds into space in an effort to develop new varieties of crops with greater yields and adaptability.
The exercise is an example of international cooperation on the Tiangong space station, which will soon expand to seeing international experiments being sent to the three-module orbital outpost through a joint China-United Nations program.
Beyond this, Pakistan has previously stated(opens in new tab) its intent to send its astronauts to Tiangong, though the Chinese side has yet to publicly confirm this will take place.
–The Daily Mail-CGTN news exhange item
The European Space Agency won’t be sending its astronauts to China’s space station anytime soon however, despite training exchanges in recent years.
