Chinese astronauts return after six months in space

A Long March-2F carrier rocket, carrying the Shenzhou-13 spacecraft with the second crew of three astronauts to China's new space station, lifts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi desert in northwest China early on Oct 16, 2021. (Photo: AFP)

Three Chinese astronauts landed in northern China on Saturday after 183 days in space, ending the country's longest crewed space mission to date.

The Shenzhou-13 spacecraft is the latest mission in Beijing's drive to become a major space power rivalling the United States, after landing a rover on Mars and sending probes to the Moon.