Chinese astronauts (left to right) Liu Wang, Jing Haipeng, and Liu Yang salute in front of the re-entry capsule of China's Shenzhou 9 spacecraft in Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on June 29, 2012. Ren Junchuan / Xinhua via Reuters
the re-entry capsule of China's Shenzhou-9 spacecraft lands safely in Siziwang Banner of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Friday. Wang Jianmin / Xinhua via AP
Members of the search team approach the re-entry capsule of China's Shenzhou 9 spacecraft in Siziwang Banner of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Friday. Ren Junchuan / Xinhua via AP
Space.com reports: Three Chinese astronauts have returned to Earth after spending 13 days on a historic space mission that made their country only the third nation ever to dock a manned spacecraft to another craft in orbit.
The Shenzhou 9 space capsule landed at about 10 p.m. ET (10 a.m. Friday, Beijing time) in Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. The astronauts left the Tiangong 1 prototype space lab module a day earlier. Continue reading the full story.
Follow @msnbc_pictures
•Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter