China’s pair of spacemen land safely

[groovychk]

http://www.newscientistspace.com/article.ns?id=dn8167

China's second crewed spaceflight ended successfully on Monday as the Shenzhou VI craft returned to Earth. Touchdown prompted celebrations and plans for an ambitious new mission in 2007, which will include a spacewalk.

The capsule carrying Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng parachuted down to a field in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia to bring their five-day mission to a close, reported Xinhua, China's official news agency.

Emerging from the module, the two took a few seconds to adjust to the Earth's gravity, before being presented with bouquets of flowers and waving to assembled recovery teams and ground-control staff. "Our journey was very smooth," a smiling Fei told state television. "The living and working conditions inside the cabin were very good. Our health is okay."

The successful mission, followed for the past 115 hours by millions of people across China, marked another step in China's progress as an emerging space power.