Shenzhou XIX astronauts return to Earth after 6-month mission

The Shenzhou XIX mission astronauts landed safely at the Dongfeng Landing Site in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Wednesday afternoon, wrapping up their six-month orbital journey.

The Shenzhou XIX spacecraft's reentry capsule, carrying the three crew members — mission commander Senior Colonel Cai Xuzhe, Lieutenant Colonel Song Lingdong and Lieutenant Colonel Wang Haoze — touched down at 1:08 pm at the Dongfeng Landing Site, located in the middle of the Gobi Desert, after flying more than nine hours on their return journey.

Their return was delayed by one day from the original schedule because of weather concerns at the Dongfeng site.

In the following hours after the return, ground recovery personnel from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the homeport for all of China's manned spaceflights, will conduct safety checks outside the capsule, before opening the hatch of the bell-shaped vehicle and examining the astronauts' health condition.

The Shenzhou XIX crew members will then be helped out of the capsule and sent for medical examination.

After completion of all the mandatory procedures at the landing site, the crew members will be flown back to Beijing to undergo a six-month quarantine and recuperation program, which is a standard procedure for Chinese astronauts returning from space.

The Shenzhou XIX spacecraft departed from the Tiangong station around 4 am on Wednesday. The vessel flew into a return trajectory and gradually re-entered the Earth's atmosphere.

Before setting out on their return trip, Cai's team handed over their work to a new crew, transmitted scientific experimental data back to Earth and sorted and transferred materials between the station and their spaceship.

In the next six months, the Tiangong station will be manned by the Shenzhou XX trio, headed by Senior Colonel Chen Dong, who arrived at the colossal flying outpost early on Friday morning.