Shenzhou XIX crew returns safely to 'beautiful, blue' Earth

The Shenzhou XIX mission astronauts landed safely at the Dongfeng Landing Site in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Wednesday afternoon, wrapping up their six-month orbital journey.

The Shenzhou XIX spacecraft's reentry capsule, carrying the three crew members — mission commander Senior Colonel Cai Xuzhe, Lieutenant Colonel Song Lingdong and Lieutenant Colonel Wang Haoze — touched down at 1:08 pm at the Dongfeng Landing Site, which is located in the middle of the Gobi Desert, after flying more than nine hours on the return journey.

Their return was one day behind schedule because mission planners postponed the landing due to weather concerns at the Dongfeng site.

Following safety checks outside the capsule, ground recovery personnel from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the home port for all of China's manned spaceflights, opened the hatch of the bell-shaped capsule and conducted a preliminary examination of the astronauts' health condition.

The Shenzhou XIX crew members were then helped out of the capsule and seated on chairs to share their experiences in a live program with a reporter from China Central Television before being taken to medical examination vehicles.