3 Chinese astronauts return home after 6-month stint in space station
Three Chinese astronauts on Sunday returned safely to Earth on board the Shenzhou-15 manned spaceship after completing their six-month mission to build China's space station.
Shenzhou-15's return capsule carrying astronauts Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 6:33 am (Beijing Time), China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said here.
The three completed their six-month space station mission, it announced.
The astronauts were in good shape, and the Shenzhou-15 manned mission was a success, the agency announced.
The three were replaced by three other astronauts, including China's first civilian who successfully flew to the space station on May 30.
The new set of astronauts will stay in the space station for five months.
Once ready, China will be the only country to own a space station as the International Space Station (ISS) of Russia is a collaborative project of several countries. The ISS