In a moment straight out of a sci-fi blockbuster, Shenzhou-20 mission commander Chen Dong became the first astronaut to emerge from the return capsule after Friday's touchdown. The three-member crew completed their six-month mission aboard China's Tiangong space station, landing safely in the Gobi Desert at 8:17 AM local time.
🔴 Why it matters: This marks China's longest crewed space mission to date, with the team conducting over 30 experiments ranging from quantum physics to space botany. The successful return comes as the Chinese mainland accelerates its lunar exploration plans, aiming for crewed moon missions by 2030.
"Chen's first steps out of the capsule symbolize our nation's giant leap in space tech," said a CNSA spokesperson during the live broadcast that trended globally on TikTok and Weibo.
All astronauts passed initial health checks and will undergo 14 days of quarantine – standard procedure after extended space stays. Meanwhile, Gen Z netizens are already memeing Chen's post-landing thumbs-up, dubbing it the "Ultimate Space Flex."
