spacetoday.net: Shenzhou-10 lands safely

Posted: Wed, Jun 26, 2013, 9:41 AM ET (1341 GMT)
Shenzhou-10 landing (Xinhua)

A Chinese spacecraft carrying three astronauts landed safely on Wednesday, ending a successful if relatively low-key mission. The Shenzhou-10 spacecraft landed in Inner Mongolia at 8:07 pm EDT Tuesday (0007 GMT, 8:07 am Beijing time Wednesday). The capsule carried Nie Haisheng, Wang Yaping, and Zhang Xiaoguang, completing their 15-day spaceflight. The crew spent more of their time docked to the Tiangong-1 module, including a "space lesson" for students on Earth. The mission got relatively little coverage in Chinese media beyond that lesson, although Chinese officials declared the missiona complete success after landing. The Tiangong-1 module is being retired after this mission, although China plans to launch a second, Tiangong-2, in 2015, as it plans for a permanently-crewed space station by 2020.