Chinese astronauts back on Earth after 'successful' six-month mission

Three Chinese astronauts landed back on Earth on Sunday (June 4) on board the re-entry capsule of the Shenzhou-15 spacecraft, state broadcaster CCTV reported, bringing to an end a six-month mission on China's Tiangong space station.

The three astronauts – Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu – who had been overseeing the final mission in the country's plan to complete the crewed orbital outpost – all said they were feeling well after landing in audio aired on CCTV.

The capsule landed at the Dongfeng site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous region just after 6:30 a.m. (2230 GMT), with staff from the space agency declaring the entire mission, which began on November 29, 2022 a "complete success," CCTV reported.