Shenzhou-15 Crew Returns To Earth

The China Manned Space Agency has declared the Shenzhou-15 mission a success as the return capsule of the spaceship, carrying astronauts Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region safely on Sunday.

The three astronauts later emerged, all in good physical condition.

Fei, who was also the commander of the Shenzhou-15 mission, was the first to leave the return capsule.

The astronauts were carried out by ground workers and placed on chairs in front of the capsule.

"I'm home, I'm home. I would like to report to the people of the motherland that we the Shenzhou-15 crew members have completed all in-orbit work and missions, and has now returned to the motherland. We are feeling good," Fei said.

Deng said that he is grateful for the support and encouragement of the people of the whole country. "I always believe in the power of dreams and persistence. No matter how old I am, I feel so happy to be needed by the nation," he added.

Zhang said, "I'm now very excited, and when I was on the space station, I often watched through the window, trying to find my motherland and hometown... We will adjust our bodies as soon as possible, go back into training, and be ready for space missions in the future."

The three Shenzhou-15 astronauts will head back to Beijing later.

They were sent to China's space station combination on November 29, 2022. They have completed multiple tasks over the past few months, including performing four extravehicular activities, giving two online science lectures, and conducting a number of sci-tech experiments.

Chief Executive John Lee congratulated the team on their successful mission, saying he is proud of the country's achievement in space exploration.

Writing on his social media page, Lee also said he looks forward to meeting local candidates who are hoping to serve as payload specialists on future space missions. He said he hopes to cheer them on before they go to Beijing for a screening this week. (Xinhua, additional reporting by RTHK)

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