China's Shenzhou 17 astronauts return to Earth after 6 months in space (video)

The Shenzhou 17 spacecraft touched down under parachutes in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region today at 5:46 a. m. EDT, about nine hours after departing China's Tiangong space station. All three Shenzhou 17 crewmembers - Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin - are healthy and safe, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency, which cited the China Manned Space Agency. Shenzhou 17 launched atop a Long March 2F rocket on Oct. 25 and arrived at Tiangong about 6.5 hours later. The Shenzhou 17 trio was also the youngest crew ever to visit Tiangong; on launch day, Tang Hongbo was 48, Tang Shengjie was 34 and Jiang was 35. The Shenzhou 17 crew had an eventful six months in low Earth orbit. In January, the astronauts welcomed to Tiangong the Tianzhou 7 robotic cargo ship, which brought supplies up for them and their Shenzhou 18 successors. The complex is about 20% as massive as the International Space Station, but that may not always be the case: Chinese space officials have expressed interest in launching more modules to Tiangong, which they aim to keep staffed by rotating astronaut crews for at least the next decade.