Astronaut Chen Dong is out of the return capsule of the Shenzhou XIV manned spaceship at the Dongfeng landing site in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Dec 4, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
The three astronauts on the Shenzhou XIV mission returned to Earth on Sunday evening after a six-month mission that completed the in-orbit assembly of the Tiangong space station.
A reentry capsule carrying the crew – Senior Colonel Chen Dong, the mission commander, Senior Colonel Liu Yang and Senior Colonel Cai Xuzhe – touched down on Earth at the Dongfeng Landing Site in northwestern China's Gobi Desert at 8:09 pm after flying nine hours in a re-entry trajectory.
This has become the first time that Chinese astronauts have returned to Earth at night.
Ground recovery personnel soon opened the hatch of the capsule and then conducted preliminary examination on the astronauts conditions.
The crew members told them that they "are feeling very good".
The return capsule of the Shenzhou XIV manned spaceship touches down safely at the Dongfeng landing site in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Dec 4, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
After preparatory work, ground personnel carried out the astronauts one by one to place them onto chairs in front of the capsule.
A lot of equipment used in the recovery operation had been added with additional cold-proof layers to resist against the chilly temperatures in the landing region, as low as minus 14 degrees Celsius.
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In their chairs, the astronauts shared their feelings with a group of domestic reporters, saying they are proud of the motherland and the country's space programs.
Then they were moved into special care vehicles to take health checks.
Carrying Chen's team, the Shenzhou XIV spacecraft undocked from the Tiangong station at 11:01 am on Sunday.
Astronaut Cai Xuzhe is out of the return capsule of the Shenzhou XIV manned spaceship at the Dongfeng landing site in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Dec 4, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
On Friday evening, the Shenzhou XIV team handed over the control of the Tiangong station to the Shenzhou XV crew.
Chen's crew is the third group of visitors to the Chinese station, one of the largest pieces of infrastructure mankind has ever deployed in Earth's orbit. The trio was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern Gobi Desert on June 5 and arrived at Tiangong later that day.
ALSO READ: Two Shenzhou crews meet in Tiangong space station
During the crew's flight, they monitored the arrival of the Wentian and Mengtian space lab modules, which completed the Tiangong's in-orbit assembly. They also carried out three spacewalks and gave a science lecture to Chinese students.
Astronaut Liu Yang is out of the return capsule of the Shenzhou XIV manned spaceship at the Dongfeng landing site in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Dec 4, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
After the departure of Shenzhou XIV, the Tiangong station currently consists of the Tianhe core module, the Wentian and Mengtian lab modules, the Shenzhou XV spacecraft and the Tianzhou 5 cargo ship.
READ MORE: Shenzhou XV crew sets off for launch
The station is now manned by the Shenzhou XV mission crew — Major General Fei Junlong, Senior Colonel Deng Qingming and Senior Colonel Zhang Lu, who arrived on Wednesday.