After spending three months living in orbit aboard
The trio touched down in the Gobi Desert in
The astronauts -- Nie Haisheng,
The three were released from the spacecraft and spent a short time sitting in reclining chairs nearby to reacclimate to Earth's gravity.
After landing, Nie said he expects more Chinese astronauts will follow their achievements, set new records and "reach new heights."
The astronauts left the Earth on
During their time in low Earth orbit, the astronauts performed two spacewalks to help build the 54-foot-long module and deployed a mechanical arm at the station. They also participated in a video call with Chinese President
Officials expect to launch the Tianzhou-3 cargo craft later this month and Shenzhou-13 for a six-month-long crewed mission in October.
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