Three Chinese taikonauts have returned to Earth from their mission on the Tiangong (Heavenly Palace) space station after six months in space.
The space capsule of commander Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin landed in the northern province of Inner Mongolia on Tuesday evening, Chinese state television reported.
The crew had taken off in their Shenzou (Divine Vessel) 17 spacecraft at the end of October last year to carry out maintenance work on the station after it had been damaged by debris.
The men were relieved by another three man crew, from the current Shenzhou 18 mission, who are also expected to remain in space for around six months.
Commander Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu, who are all trained pilots from the People's Liberation Army, are to carry out experiments and space walks during their time in orbit.
The government in Beijing has been pushing ahead with its space programme for years in competition with other nations such as the United States.
An important unmanned lunar probe, Chang'e 6, named after the Chinese Moon goddess, is expected to be launched from the southern holiday island of Hainan in the coming days.
The probe is to land on the far side of the moon and collect rock samples there. The moon has once again become a target for several space-faring nations, partly because important raw materials are believed to be found there. The missions are also considered to be technically highly complex and therefore prestigious.
