Shenzhou XVIII lands on earth concluding six-month mission

Ye said he is grateful to the motherland and its people as well as all those taking part in the nation's manned space programs.

"Through this flight, I returned to the Tiangong space station and had an orbital journey for the second time. It allowed me to have a personal experience of the new signs of progress in our space industry. We will always keep in our mind the tasks given by the Party and the people and continue to work hard to fulfill our duty in building our country into a great space power," the mission commander said.

Li Cong said the crew members cooperated very well with each other in hopes of making their tasks successful, noting that their two spacewalks were done perfectly.