The landing of the crewed Chinese Shenzhou-9 capsule after 13
days docked with space station Tiangong-1 marks a major
checkpoint in the nation's space programme and serves as a
strong advertisement for Chinese capabilities. The three
taikonauts, as Chinese astronauts are known, appear safe and
healthy after 13 days in space. The Chinese flight comes on the
heels of SpaceX's landmark flight to the International Space
Station (ISS), which while uncrewed was the first commercial
spacecraft to do so. "As we noticed, the whole nation, overseas
Chinese, our foreign friends as well as the media both at home
and abroad have all paid close attention to the completion of
the mission," says Wang Zhaoyao, director of the China Manned
Spaceflight Office. The spacecraft, a capsule, landed among the
hills of the northern Chinese province of Inner Mongolia on 29
June. The flight marks only the fourth crewed launch in Chinese
history, with a crew of three - the largest to date -- that
included the first female taikonaut. Chin