Shenzhou-16 manned spacecraft separates from space station combination

By CGTN

China's Shenzhou-16 manned spacecraft separated from the country's space station combination on Monday, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

After separation, the Shenzhou-16 crew took a high-definition panoramic image of the space station combination with Earth as the background.     

The three taikonauts, after five months in space, are expected to land at the Dongfeng Landing Site in the Gobi Desert in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Tuesday.

The Shenzhou-16 and Shenzhou-17 astronaut crews completed in-orbit handover on Sunday. The Shenzhou-17 crew started their stint in the China Space Station last week. They are expected to conduct a slew of extravehicular activities and experiments in space for nearly six months.

An air detachment responsible for the search and rescue recovery mission for China's Shenzhou-16 crew has been fully prepared for their return. More than 10 search and rescue groups and nearly 100 vehicles performing different functions will join the task.

(Cover: An illustration of China's space station combination consisting of three modules and three spaceships. /CMSA)