China's Shenzhou-13 astronauts to return to Earth soon

(ECNS) -- With all planned tasks in orbit finished, China's Shenzhou-13 crew will leave the Tianhe space station core module soon and head to the designated Dongfeng landing site in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, according to the China Manned Space Agency on Thursday.

On Oct. 16, 2021, the Shenzhou-13 mission sent three Chinese taikonauts, ZhaiZhigang, Wang Yaping, and Ye Guangfu, to the Tiangong space station for a six-month stay.

They have completed a slew of tasks over the past six months, including two extravehicular activities, two live science lectures, and a number of sci-tech experiments and application projects.

The Chinese astronauts also used manual teleoperation equipment for the first time, operating the cargo craft and the space station for rendezvous and docking.

The Shenzhou-13 crew spent its Chinese New Year for the first time in space.