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By Ma Miaomiao

Having extended the record of the longest taikonaut stay on a single flight mission in space to 90 days， the Shenzhou-12 crew returned to Earth four days before Chinas Mid-Autumn Festival， a day of family reunions and friendly gatherings， at the Dongfeng Landing Site in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on September 17.

The first manned flight during the construction of Chinas space station proved a complete success， announced the China Manned Space Agency（CMSA）.

The task was a great step forward in getting the Tiangong space station ready， Brad Tucker， an astrophysicist and cosmologist with Australian National University， told Xinhua News Agency.

“The taikonauts did a lot of work in preparing the Tiangong space station for full operation， with multiple spacewalks and upgrades，” he said.

Safe return

Under the command of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center （BACC）， the return capsule of Shenzhou-12 separated from the spaceships orbiting capsule at 12：43 p.m. The braking engine then ignited， and the return capsule separated from the propellant. After the return capsule touched down at 1：34 p.m.， the ground search team arrived at the landing site. Medical personnel then confirmed the taikonauts physical and mental wellbeing： all had made it back safe and sound.

As it happened， this very special homecoming also marked taikonaut Liu Bomings birthday. “This is an unforgettable one. I was so fortunate and happy to have the chance to once again fly high up into the skies and take a walking tour of our own space station，” Liu， who first travelled to space in 2008， said.

They looked relaxed and waved to the ground crew after exiting the return capsule one hour and 40 minutes after touchdown. Later， the taikonauts were escorted onto a helicopter and flown to Beijing.

“The mission crew was subsequently provided with checkups， medical protective measures and nutrition plans. The goal is to get them back to the shape they were in prior to takeoff， or even better than that，”Wu Dawei， deputy chief designer of the Astronaut System of Chinas Manned Space Program， said.

The taikonauts are currently in quarantine， not for COVID-19 prevention and control purposes， but to undergo a comprehensive medical examination and health assessment， according to the CMSA. With the help of a professional medical team， they will readapt to gravity and the overall environment on Earth， restore body functions and improve immunity through multiple methods of exercise， diet and massage.