China鈥檚 Shenzhou-II space craft has returned safely to Earth, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
The mission is part of a programme aiming to put Chinese astronauts in space within five years.
The craft 鈥渢ouched down smoothly鈥� in the Inner Mongolia region of north China at 1122 GMT on Tuesday, after seven days and 108 orbits of the planet.
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The Chinese authorities have said the craft was carrying numerous animals and microbial cells, whose purpose was presumably to test the ability of the craft to sustain life in space. Xinhua said: 鈥淭he shuttle accomplished all its planned experiments on space science and technology.鈥�
The first flight of Shenzhou 鈥� meaning 鈥淒ivine Ship鈥� 鈥� lasted 21 hours in November 1999. Both craft were launched using a new version of the Long March rocket.
Western observers believe China is pursuing the ambitious programme in order to boost national prestige and stimulate its technology industry, in particular the potentially lucrative satellite launch business.
After the launch, Mike Cruise, of Birmingham University and UK science delegate to the European Space Agency, told New 杏吧原创: 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a big surprise. They鈥檝e been continuously developing launch vehicles for a period of 20 years or so, and have a strong ambition to get a proper space programme going.鈥�