SHENZHOU-12 SPACE STATION CREW RETURNS TO EARTH, Sept 17, 2021, China, ~1:00 am ET

Update, September 15, 11:35 pm EDT: Xinhua reports that the crew undocked at 8:56 am September 16 Beijing time, which was 8:56 pm EDT this evening (September 15).  It did not say when the crew would land.

Update, September 15, 9:25 am EDT:  China still has not said when the crew will return, but Twitter users @LaunchStuff and Andrew Jones (@AJ_FL), reliable sources of information about China’s space program, think it will be between 0514-0544 UTC (1:14-1:44 am EDT) on Friday, September 17 based on a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) to keep the airspace clear near the landing site, Dongfeng, in the Gobi Desert.

Looks like the Shenzhou-12 astronauts are returning between 0514-0544 UTC on Friday. This will be a first Shenzhou landing near Dongfeng, to the northeast of Jiuquan launch center, in the Gobi Desert. Old landing area was grasslands of Siziwang (Dorbod Banner). https://t.co/BiWkYRp0As

— Andrew Jones (@AJ_FI) September 15, 2021

Original Entry: China’s Shenzhou-12 crew, which launched to the Tianhe space station in June for a 3-month mission, is expected to return to Earth in mid-September.

As is typical, China is providing very little information and has not said when the landing is planned, but the crew arrived on the space station on June 17 so a 3-month mission would have them returning sometime around September 17.

We will post any additional information we get right here.

The crew members are:

• Nie Haisheng
• Liu Boming
• Tang Hongbo