Chinese astronauts return after 90 days aboard space station

The three astronauts emerged about 30 minutes later and were seated in reclining chairs just outside the capsule to allow them time to readjust to Earth’s gravity after three months of living in a weightless environment

Tang Hongbo, Nie Haisheng and Liu Boming wave at the Dongfeng landing site in northern China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Picture: Xinhua/AP

Three Chinese astronauts have returned to Earth after a 90-day stay aboard their nation’s first space station, marking China’s longest mission yet.

Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo landed in the Shenzhou-12 spaceship just after 1.30pm local time (6.30am BST) after having undocked from the space station on Thursday morning.