The Shenzhou-13 manned spacecraft, carrying Chinese astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu, separated from China's space station at 12:44 a.m. Saturday (Beijing Time).

The trio lived in the space station's core module Tianhe for 183 days, the longest stay in space by Chinese astronauts on a single mission. The crew is now heading home.

Prior to the separation, the astronauts had completed various works, such as setting the status of the space station complex, sorting and downloading experiment data, and clearing and transferring supplies kept in orbit, with support from staff on the ground, China Manned Space Agency said.

The crew will soon start their journey home as the Shenzhou-13 spacecraft reenters the Earth atmosphere at an appropriate time under ground control.

The three Chinese astronauts were sent into space onboard the Shenzhou-13 spaceship and entered Tianhe on October 16, 2021. They have completed multiple tasks over the past few months, including two extravehicular activities, two live science lectures, and a number of science and technology experiments and application projects.

(With input from Xinhua)