Chinese astronauts land back on Earth after a six-month mission

After successfully completing a six-month mission aboard the space station of China, three Chinese astronauts finally landed back on earth.

On June 5, the astronauts left for space to oversee the Tiangong space station’s final construction stage, which got completed in November. While returning, the astronauts were onboard the Shenzhou-14 spacecraft’s re-entry capsule which landed safely at the Dongfeng site in Inner Mongolia.

The three astronauts, commander Chen Dong along with teammates Cai Xuzhe and Liu Yang, after landing said that they feeling good. The tired crew was carried out by the staff at the landing site. The mission was declared a "complete success” by the space agency of China.

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Meanwhile, in space, three spacewalks were carried out by the three astronauts to test and check the new facilities. The astronauts also oversaw the arrival of Tiangong’s second and third modules.

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On Wednesday, a new crew consisting of three Chinese astronauts will make its first in-orbit crew handover. The crew had boarded the Shenzhou-15 spacecraft from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre which is located in north-west China’s Gobi Desert.

The astronauts will be living for six months in the station. This will be the second such outpost which is permanently inhabited, after the International Space Station led by Nasa, which had excluded China in 2011.

The crew will work on the installation of facilities and equipment around the space station, the China Manned Space Administration’s spokesperson said.

Tiangong space station, also known as "Heavenly Palace", is the new permanent space station in China. Previously, two temporary trial space stations called Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2 were launched by the country.

(With inputs from agencies)