The three taikonauts aboard China's Shenzhou-12 spacecraft naturally get most of the attention during discussions of their historic 90-day mission. But on their return to Earth, a key piece of equipment takes a starring role: The giant parachute that softens their landing. China's self-developed parachutes have escorted all Shenzhou spacecraft back to Earth smoothly.

The parachute stretches about nine floors or 70 meters from the top to the end that connects the spacecraft. That's the width of a football field.

The 1,200-square-meter parachute is able to slow the craft down to seven meters per second before landing. But it's not the only chute that's deployed.

"The craft still travels at 200m/s when it's 10 kilometers above the ground. That's twice the speed of high-speed trains. It is not practical to open the main chute at that time. Let's say, on rainy days when it is windy, your umbrella can turn over," Rong Wei, deputy chief designer of the Shenzhou spacecraft system said.

Therefore, the craft first opens a smaller chute – to slow it down to 90m/s before pulling out the main chute. At one meter above the ground, the engine at the bottom of the craft can further slow it down to a safe landing speed.

In addition, the parachutes are designed to save space and weight for manned spacecraft. The chute package weighs less than 100 kilogram and can be packed into a bag the size of only two suitcases.

"The rope per meter weighs less than a ping-pong ball, but it's very strong. I'm about 70 kilogram. The rope can hold five times my weight," Rong Wei said.

A total of 96 ropes must be packed precisely so they don't get tangled, for the safety of the taikonauts. The parachute deploys for only a few seconds during landing. But it takes decades for researchers to make those seconds count.  

The three taikonauts from China's Shenzhou-12 manned spaceflight mission made their first appearance out of the re-entry capsule after safely landing back on Earth local time on Friday afternoon. 

China announced on Friday that the Shenzhou-12 manned spaceflight mission was a complete success after its three astronauts landed safely back on Earth.

The three taikonauts from the Shenzhou-12 manned spaceflight mission are in good condition after landing on Earth. 

The re-entry capsule of the Shenzhou-12 spaceship, with three astronauts aboard, has successfully returned to the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Friday.

The main parachute of the re-entry capsule of Shenzhou-12 was deployed successfully ahead of the spacecraft's landing in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The Shenzhou-12 spacecraft's re-entry module has separated from the propelling module.

The Shenzhou-12 spacecraft's re-entry module separated from the orbital module after attitude adjustment and entered return orbit.

The Shenzhou-12 manned spaceship performed its first attitude adjustment before embarking on its trip back to Earth on Friday.

The Dongfeng landing site, with a touchdown area of 20,000 square kilometers in the Gobi Desert in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is set and ready to receive the homecoming Shenzhou-12 crew. 

An emergency squad equipped with high-efficient 4G mobile base stations to increase search capability is on standby.

After three months in orbit, the Shenzhou 12 manned spacecraft crew will return to Earth on September 17. Since October 15, 2003, each of China's previous manned space missions has been completed smoothly with each taikonaut safely returning home. Qian Xuesen, the founder of China's space industry, also witnessed the success of Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 6. CGTN's Liu Jiaxin combed through the highlights of the landing moments.

The China Manned Space Engineering Office announced on Thursday that the Shenzhou-12 manned spacecraft had successfully separated from China's space station.

Taikonauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo lived on the space station's core module for 91 days, setting a record for Chinese astronauts on a single mission. The crew is now heading home aboard the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft.

The Shenzhou-12 manned spacecraft will come back to Earth on September 17, the mission's command center announced on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the China Manned Space Engineering Office announced the spacecraft had successfully separated from China's space station.

The Shenzhou-12 crew, assisted by technical personnel on the ground, completed all pre-separation work, including setting the China space station modules, experimental data transmitting and in-orbit materials cleaning and transferring.

The trio expressed gratitude and respect to all personnel involved in this mission.

After the separation, the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft carried out orbiting and radial rendezvous tests with the space station at 1:38 p.m. Beijing time, which successfully verified the radial rendezvous technology and laid an important technical foundation for subsequent manned missions.

As planned, the manned spacecraft will re-enter the atmosphere later, bringing the trio back to Earth.

The crew has worked and lived in the space station for 90 days, setting a new record for Chinese astronauts' in-orbit stay for a single mission.

Launched on June 17, the Shenzhou-12 trio entered the space station's core module "Tianhe" from the spacecraft on the same day. This came more than 20 years after the International Space Station (ISS) was launched. The ISS does not allow Chinese astronauts to be onboard because of a U.S. law banning the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from working with their Chinese counterparts.

The China space station, orbiting the Earth at a height of about 400 kilometers, is still under construction. Eight more missions, including three manned operations, are still being arranged to complete the space station.

The crew is expected to touch down in the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. A search and rescue team from China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert recently conducted drills at the landing site.

Read more: China Space Station: Things you need to know before the Shenzhou-12 crew returns

After a three-month journey in China's space station, members of the Shenzhou-12 manned spacecraft are returning to their home planet later this month.

It is expected to touch down in the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. A search and rescue team from China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert recently conducted drills at the landing site for the upcoming return of the Shenzhou-12 crew.

The Dongfeng site usually serves as a backup landing site to the Siziwang Banner site. The reason behind the change is in where the taikonauts came from. Returning from a space station can be difference than from a spaceship. It's harder for the land crew to calculate the exact landing point. So, landing in the desert can be a safer choice.

With that said, locating the return capsule in desert is much harder for the search and rescue team. We can only hope that they have fully prepared to welcome China's space heroes.

Taikonauts' preparation before heading home

One of the main tasks for the three crew members before coming back to Earth is preparing their bodies.

"We need to increase physical activities, training our muscles, bones, and heart and lung functions to prepare for the impacts when entering the atmosphere and hitting on the ground, and to readjust to Earth's environment," Nie Haisheng, commander of the three-man crew, told China Central Television in a video interview last month.

Besides exercising, the crewmates will also undergo inventory check in the space station, making it convenient for the next batch of taikonauts to know where to find what they need. They will set up some equipment and functions as well to prepare for future missions.

(Gong Zhe also contributed to the story.)

A second batch of high-resolution images taken by China's in-orbit Shenzhou-12 crew was released by the China Manned Space Engineering Office on Thursday.

The stunning photos, captured by the three Chinese astronauts, or taikonauts, provide a spectacular tour of our planet's lands and waters.