The return capsule of the Shenzhou-21 spaceship, carrying the Shenzhou-20 astronauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Friday.

At 11:14 Beijing Time (0314 GMT), the Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceship undocked from the space station combination. At 14:49 Beijing time (0649 GMT), the Beijing Aerospace Control Center issued a return command through the ground station, and the orbital capsule of the Shenzhou-21 spaceship separated from the return capsule.

The brake engine then ignited, and the Shenzhou-21 return capsule separated from the propulsion capsule. The return capsule touched down at the Dongfeng landing site at 16:40 Beijing time (0840 GMT), the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said.

The returned astronauts are in good physical condition, according to the medical staff on site.

The Shenzhou-20 crew was sent into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on April 24, 2025.

Their return, originally scheduled for Nov 5, was postponed due to safety concerns. Tiny cracks were found in the viewport window of the Shenzhou-20 manned spacecraft's return capsule, which are most probably caused by external impact from space debris, according to the CMSA.

The agency said the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft does not meet the requirements for the astronauts' safe return and will remain in orbit to continue the relevant experiments.

Prior to Friday's return, the crew handed over the space station to the Shenzhou-21 astronauts who got on board on Nov 1.

The Shenzhou-22 spacecraft will be launched at an appropriate time in the future, said the CMSA.