After 15 days in space, China's Shenzhou-10 return capsule touched down in inner-Mongolia on Wednesday, making the successful flight the longest space mission undertaken by the Chinese.

After a parachute assisted descent and a perfect landing, the happy trio of space travelers, Zhang Xiaoguang, Nie Haisheng and Wang Yaping emerged from the capsule, and smiled and waved for the cameras.

During their stay in space, the three astronauts carried out tests and practiced docking procedures with the Tiangong space module, which is a prototype for China’s proposed space station due to be built by 2020. They also conducted science lectures to 60 million students during their space mission.

The Chinese space effort is behind Russia’s and the United States but has made huge strides since they first placed a man in space in 2003. By 2005 China’s astronaut performed the first space walk.

China has exhibited considerable pride in their space program, despite it huge cost in a country where there are vast populations of poor people that cannot afford a place to stay or hospital fees.

Director of China’s manned space program said in an announcement, “As we celebrate our success, we also realize the fact that there is still a very large gap between China and the leading space countries in terms of manned space technology and capability.”