China Opens Shenzhou-13 Return Capsule

The return capsule of the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceship lands successfully at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, April 16, 2022. [Xinhua/Ren Junchuan]

BEIJING — On Tuesday, China opened the return capsule of the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceship which carried three astronauts back to Earth on April 16, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

Items carried by the spacecraft, including crop seeds, 8K high-definition memory card storing images and videos taken by the astronauts in orbit, commemorative stamps, and paintings by Hong Kong teenagers, were taken out from the return capsule.

Since the establishment of the country's manned space project, China has constantly placed importance on contributing to the national economy and people's livelihood, said the CMSA.

The Shenzhou-13 spaceship was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Oct. 16, 2021. Experiments in space science and technology were carried out during the in-orbit flight.

The mission highlights that China has completed the verification of key technologies of its space station, and also sets a record for Chinese astronauts' duration in orbit.