Shenzhou 7 successfully finishes historic mission, landing safely

Source: CCTV.com | 09-28-2008 20:32

Shenzhou 7 has wrapped up its historic mission. The three astronauts made a soft landing on the grassland of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region less than an hour and a half ago. Sun Wei has the story.

5:37 p.m. Sunday afternoon, mission accomplished. Shenzhou 7 made a soft landing

About ten minutes later, search and rescue teams arrived at the site, opened the hatch and helped the three astronauts out, all in good condition.

Zhai Zhigang, Astronaut, said, "We've completed this manned space mission smoothly. We've just set foot on the ground. Yesterday I performed the first extravehicular activities. The mission is glorious, the challenge is great, and the result is successful. I'm proud of our nation."

Watching at the aerospace control center in Beijing, Premier Wen Jiabao sent his congratulations.

Wen Jiabao, Chinese Premier, said, "On the occasion around the 59th anniversary of the country's founding, China's manned space program made a big success. I congratulate you, all the aerospace industry staff. "

Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming, and Jing Haipeng returned from a 68-hour flight, which included a monumental 20-minute spacewalk on Saturday.

A 1,000-square-meter parachute slowed the Shenzhou 7's descent to land at Siziwang in central Inner Mongolia, where 300 search and rescue staff waited.

The astronauts remained in the module for adjust to gravitation and for medical checks before their exit.

They will be taken to a hospital in the Inner Mongolian capital Hohhot for a thorough exam and are scheduled to fly to Beijing on Monday.

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Editor:Du Xiaodan