China's Shenzhou-19 astronauts return to earth
China has ploughed billions of dollars into its space programme in recent years in an effort to achieve what President Xi Jinping describes as the country's "space dream".
The world's second-largest economy has bold plans to send a crewed mission to the Moon by the end of the decade and eventually build a base on the lunar surface.
Its latest launch last week ferried a trio of astronauts to the Tiangong space station, heralding the start of the Shenzhou-20 mission.
They have taken over from Shenzhou-19 crew Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, whose landing capsule touched down in the northern Inner Mongolia region on Wednesday.
Shortly after the landing, the Xinhua state news agency said the mission was a "complete success", adding that the trio were in "good health".
Pictures from state broadcaster CCTV showed the capsule, attached to a red-and-white striped parachute, descending through an azure sky before hitting the ground in a cloud of brown desert dust.
Teams of officials in white and orange jumpsuits then rushed to open the golden craft, and one planted a fluttering national flag into the sandy soil nearby.
The Shenzhou-19 crew had worked on the space station since October, where they carried out experiments and set a new record for the longest ever spacewalk.
They were initially scheduled to return on Tuesday, but the mission was postponed due to bad weather at the Dongfeng landing site, according to Chinese authorities.
Wang, 35, was China's only woman spaceflight engineer at the time of the launch, according to the Chinese Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
Commander Cai, a 48-year-old former air force pilot, previously served aboard Tiangong as part of the Shenzhou-14 mission in 2022.
Song, a 34-year-old onetime air force pilot, completed the group of spacefarers popularly dubbed "taikonauts" in China.
Bold ambitions
Last week, China saw off the Shenzhou-20 team in a feast of pomp and pageantry at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Base in the barren desert of northwestern Gansu province.
A military band and crowds of flag-waving well-wishers bade farewell to the crew before they blasted off on a Long March-2F rocket.
State media reported that they assumed control of the space station after a handover ceremony with its former occupants on Sunday.
The all-male Shenzhou-20 crew is headed by Chen Dong, 46, a former fighter pilot and veteran space explorer who in 2022 became the first Chinese astronaut to clock up more than 200 cumulative days in orbit.
The other two crew members -- 40-year-old former air force pilot Chen Zhongrui, and 35-year-old former space technology engineer Wang Jie -- are on their first space flight.
During their six-month stint, the crew will carry out experiments in physics and life sciences and install protective equipment against space debris.
For the first time, they will also bring aboard planarians, aquatic flatworms known for their regenerative abilities.
China's space programme is the third to put humans in orbit and has also landed robotic rovers on Mars and the Moon as it catches up with the two most established cosmic powers, the United States and Russia.
Tiangong -- whose name means "celestial palace" in Chinese -- is its tour de force.
China has never been involved in the International Space Station due to opposition from the United States.
Washington plans to return to the Moon in 2027, though the election of President Donald Trump brought uncertainty over the mission's fate.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
5 hours ago
- India Today
You didn't catch Covid, but your brain might have felt it anyway
A new study led by experts at the University of Nottingham has uncovered evidence that the Covid-19 pandemic may have accelerated the ageing of people's brains, even among those who were never infected with the findings, published in Nature Communications, suggest that the unprecedented stress, isolation, and social disruption of the pandemic have left a physical imprint on the drew on detailed brain scans from nearly 1,000 healthy adults participating in the UK Biobank project. By comparing scans taken before and after the pandemic, and using sophisticated machine learning models, they estimated each person's 'brain age', a measure of how old a brain appears compared to the person's actual age. The brain age model was trained on over 15,000 healthy individuals, providing a highly accurate baseline for comparison. The study found that, on average, the brains of people who lived through the pandemic aged 5.5 months faster for every chronological year, compared to those scanned entirely before the the effect was more pronounced in older adults, men, and those from socio-economically disadvantaged and ReversibilityWhile the study observed physical signs of accelerated brain ageing across the population, declines in cognitive abilities, such as mental flexibility and processing speed, were only seen in participants who had actually contracted suggests that, although pandemic-related brain ageing was widespread, it may not always be accompanied by noticeable symptoms in those who did not get the researchers highlighted that these changes could be reversible. Professor Dorothee Auer, senior author on the study, said, 'This study reminds us that brain health is shaped not only by illness, but by our everyday environment. The pandemic put a strain on people's lives, especially those already facing disadvantage. We can't yet test whether the changes we saw will reverse, but it's certainly possible, and that's an encouraging thought'. The study points to the importance of supporting mental and brain health during times of societal upheaval. Dr. Ali-Reza Mohammadi-Nejad, lead author, noted, 'Even people who hadn't had Covid showed significant increases in brain ageing rates. It really shows how much the experience of the pandemic itself, everything from isolation to uncertainty, may have affected our brain health'.These findings open new avenues for public health research on the long-term consequences of global crises on the brain, and reinforce the need for targeted support for vulnerable groups.- EndsTrending Reel
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Time of India
Neuro scans of adults in UK reveal faster ageing of brain post-pandemic
New Delhi: Experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic may have accelerated brain ageing by five and a half months, regardless of one's infection status, according to a new study, which researchers said point to the indirect effects of aspects such as isolation and uncertainty. The researchers, led by those from the University of Nottingham, analysed brain scans of adults in the UK taken before and after the pandemic. They found that changes were most noticeable among the brains of older individuals, men, and people from disadvantaged backgrounds, such as those unemployed and having lower incomes or education. However, brain ageing was found to impact cognitive function, with 'brain fog' and difficulty in focussing being common symptoms, only in those who were infected with COVID-19, suggesting that brain ageing alone may not necessarily produce symptoms. The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, highlight "how much the experience of the pandemic itself, everything from isolation to uncertainty, may have affected our brain health," said lead researcher Ali-Reza Mohammadi-Nejad, research fellow at the university's faculty of medicine and health sciences. "What surprised me most was that even people who hadn't had Covid showed significant increases in brain ageing rates," Mohammadi-Nejad added. According to the authors, the pandemic-related brain ageing "may be at least partially reversible", but being strongly linked with socio-economic deprivation, the policies addressing inequalities are urgently needed, given that existing gaps widened during this time. AI-powered models which were used for predicting brain age were first trained on magnetic resonance image (MRI) brain scans of over 15,000 healthy people from the UK Biobank. The models thus learnt to measure the 'brain age gap' i.e. how much one's brain age differed from their actual age. The models were then employed to analyse two scans of the brains of 996 healthy participants, in 564 people (controls) both the scans were taken before the pandemic, while in the 'Pandemic' group consisting of 432 individuals, one scan was taken before and one after. "The 'Pandemic' group shows on average (a) 5.5-month higher deviation of brain age gap at the second time point, compared with controls," the authors wrote. They also found that "accelerated brain ageing is more pronounced in males and those from deprived socio-demographic backgrounds and these deviations exist regardless of SARS-CoV-2 (virus that causes COVID-19) infection." Further, cognitive tests taken at the time of both scans revealed that an "accelerated brain ageing correlates with reduced cognitive performance only in COVID-infected participants." Senior author Dorothee Auer, professor of neuroimaging at the University of Nottingham, said "This study reminds us that brain health is shaped not only by illness, but by our everyday environment." "The pandemic put a strain on people's lives, especially those already facing disadvantage. We can't yet test whether the changes we saw will reverse, but it's certainly possible, and that's an encouraging thought," Auer said.
Time of India
17 hours ago
- Time of India
'We may be just months away from alien contact': Baba Vanga's scary 2025 prediction
The legendary Bulgarian mystic Baba Vanga, known for her strikingly accurate predictions despite being blind, has reportedly made a dramatic forecast for 2025: humanity's first contact with extraterrestrial life. Several of Vanga's past predictions have proven eerily accurate, including the death of Princess Diana, the 9/11 attacks, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Artificial Intelligence Healthcare Technology Public Policy Cybersecurity PGDM Product Management MCA Operations Management Design Thinking Data Science others Leadership Management Data Analytics MBA CXO Finance Data Science Project Management Degree Others Digital Marketing healthcare Skills you'll gain: Duration: 7 Months S P Jain Institute of Management and Research CERT-SPJIMR Exec Cert Prog in AI for Biz India Starts on undefined Get Details According to reports, Vanga foresaw that humanity will encounter aliens during a major international sporting event in 2025. With high-profile events like the Women's Euro Final, Formula 1 races, and the Women's Rugby World Cup on the calendar, speculation is mounting over whether a stadium filled with spectators could become the stage for a historic, televised moment. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like She Was Everyone's Dream Girl In 90's, This Is Her Recently. Investructor Undo Adding weight to the prophecy is Brazilian psychic Athos Salomé, dubbed the 'Living Nostradamus,' who echoed a similar vision. As reported by the New York Post, Salomé believes scientific advancement—not flying saucers—will lead to alien discovery, pointing to NASA's James Webb Space Telescope as a key instrument in confirming intelligent extraterrestrial life. 'Thanks to the James Webb Telescope, humanity might finally get the answer to the existence of alien life,' Salomé explained. 'Governments like the U.S. may declassify UFO files. If true, these discoveries could revolutionize our understanding of the universe—and ourselves.' Live Events What Else Did Baba Vanga Predict for 2025? While alien contact has made headlines, Vanga's 2025 predictions extend well beyond interstellar matters. Here's a look at what she reportedly foresaw: Natural Disasters in Asia A major natural disaster—possibly an earthquake followed by a tsunami—striking Asia. While no date was given, the threat remains significant in seismically active regions. Global Economic Collapse She warned of a severe economic downturn, marked by widespread unemployment and financial instability—anxiety that resonates in today's volatile global markets. New Diseases and Medical Breakthroughs Vanga predicted the emergence of unknown illnesses, but also medical breakthroughs, including prosthetic organs and potential cures for chronic conditions. Europe's Shrinking Population She foresaw a dramatic population decline in Europe, echoing current demographic trends of declining birth rates and aging populations. End of Social Divisions In a more optimistic vision, Vanga predicted the end of caste and racial divisions, envisioning a more unified and inclusive human society.
