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Beijing: China’s first spacewalker and two other astronauts returned safely back to Earth on Sunday, where they can expect a heroes' welcome.
Zhai Zhigang and two other astronauts on the Shenzhou VII craft touched down in northern Inner Mongolia region, where rescuers were on stand-by.
The astronauts were said to be in good condition. They will be put in quarantine for half a month, the official Xinhua newspaper reported.
The extensive space mission, which brings China one step closer to the moon, was welcomed by China’s communist leaders as a success for the whole nation.
In its third space mission, China hopes to join Russia and the United States as pioneers with a long-term goal of setting up a space lab.
It will start selecting new trainee astronauts for an even more demanding mission, orbiter docking, once the Shenzhou VII crew are safely back to earth, state news agency Xinhua said.
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