At the time that we’re recording this, the Inspiration4 team is within 24 hours of their return to Earth. We hope and pray that all went well, and we will cover their mission in its entirety in our next episode. 

While we don’t know their full story yet, we can tell you that three Chinese astronauts have returned to Earth after a 90-day visit to their space station, the Tianhe. This was the first of a series of missions planned for this year and next that will work to test systems and complete construction on this new station. During this first segment, they checked the basics like life support and tested a robotic arm – one not made by Canada – that will be essential in the future. Space belongs to no one, and we hope that by having multiple stations, the researchers of more nations will be able to conduct research in space.

More Information

Shenzhou-12 astronauts return to Earth after 3-month space station mission (SpaceNews)