BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) — The following is a summary of published science and technology news of China.

SHENZHOU-15 ASTRONAUTS

The three astronauts from China’s Shenzhou-15 crewed mission met the press on Monday, their first appearance after returning to Earth in June.

Having completed the quarantine and recuperation stage, the astonauts are now undergoing observation, the gathered press were told at the Astronaut Center of China in Beijing.

LUNAR WATER-ICE PROBE

Chinese space scientists have revealed in a paper how the country’s lunar probe Chang’e-7, supported by a hopping detector, may go about investigating the water-ice in the shadow pit near the south pole of the moon.

China plans to launch the Chang’e-6 to land on the moon in around 2024 to collect samples from the far side of the moon, before sending the Chang’e-7 probe around 2026 to implement resource exploration of the lunar south pole.

FIREFIGHTING PLANE

China’s homegrown Modern Ark 60 (MA60) firefighting plane completed its first test flight recently, announced its developer, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).

As a large and medium-sized fixed-wing firefighting aircraft, it has functions including fire extinguishing with water dropping, air communications, and fire prevention and monitoring.