China's space explorers come back down to Earth - September 29, 2008
Posted for Laura Starr
Yesterday, the crew of China’s Shenzhou-7 spacecraft safely touched down by parachute in Inner Mongolia. The taikonauts were greeted as heroes, having victoriously carried out a historical landmark achievement – a spacewalk – a moment of pure symbolism marking a milestone in the nation’s space discovery. Their triumph has been greeted with substantial enthusiasm across the world.
What comes next for the conquering nation? China's manned space program spokesman, Wang Zhaoyao, announced plans to set up a simple space lab in 2011 and a manned space station by 2020 (Xinhua report).
Nature reported earlier this year that China does not yet have any official plans to place a man on the moon. However, recent developments show that this moon landing is still something many are keen on. Zhaoyao stated that “The moon landing is an extremely challenging and sophisticated task, and it is also a strategically important technological field. It is necessary for China to achieve something in this field.”
