
Astronaut Chen Dong, commander of the three-member Shenzhou-20 crew, is out of the Shenzhou-21 spaceship’s return capsule after it touched down on Earth at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nov. 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Zhipeng)
JIUQUAN, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) — By 5:21 p.m. (Beijing Time) on Friday, the three members of the Shenzhou-20 crew — Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie — had all left the Shenzhou-21 return capsule. They had spent 204 days in orbit and are all in good health, the China Manned Space Agency said.
Chen Dong, commander of the crew, was the first to exit the return capsule after it touched down on Earth. He has become the first Chinese astronaut to accumulate over 400 days in orbit. ■

The return capsule of the Shenzhou-21 spaceship, carrying the Shenzhou-20 astronauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, touches down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nov. 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Minggang)

Astronaut Chen Dong, commander of the three-member Shenzhou-20 crew, is out of the Shenzhou-21 spaceship’s return capsule after it touched down on Earth at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nov. 14, 2025. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

Chen Zhongrui, a Shenzhou-20 astronaut, is out of the Shenzhou-21 spaceship’s return capsule after it touched down on Earth at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nov. 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Zhipeng)

Chen Zhongrui, a Shenzhou-20 astronaut, is out of the Shenzhou-21 spaceship’s return capsule after it touched down on Earth at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nov. 14, 2025. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

Wang Jie, a Shenzhou-20 astronaut, is out of the Shenzhou-21 spaceship’s return capsule after it touched down on Earth at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nov. 14, 2025. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

Wang Jie, a Shenzhou-20 astronaut, is out of the Shenzhou-21 spaceship’s return capsule after it touched down on Earth at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nov. 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Zhipeng)

The return capsule of the Shenzhou-21 spaceship, carrying the Shenzhou-20 astronauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, touches down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nov. 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Zhipeng)
