Scientific experimental samples from China's space station return to Earth

BEIJING, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- The third batch of space scientific experimental samples from China's Tiangong space station arrived in Beijing on Monday, following the return of the Shenzhou-14 crew.

The returned experimental samples include three cold packs of rice and Arabidopsis, and a bag with four boxes of container-free materials. They were delivered to the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The seeds for the two plant samples underwent a 120-day cultivation process in Tiangong. Scientists will analyze the effects that microgravity in space had on the samples, according to the academy.

The experiment cabinet for container-free materials in the station's Tianhe core module is China's first and the world's second of its kind used in orbit. It has been operating in space for more than 590 days, completing in-orbit experiments on seven boxes of materials.

Scientists have obtained a large amount of data through the in-orbit experiments, which will help them step up the research on developing new materials on Earth, the academy said.

The return capsule of the Shenzhou-14 manned spaceship, carrying taikonauts Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Sunday, after completing a six-month space station mission.