Crew members of the Shenzhou XIII mission return to Earth

In one experiment, Wang used a Bing Dwen Dwen toy, the popular mascot of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, to display how objects fly in weightless environment.

The Shenzhou XIII's space-based lessons marked the start of the Tiangong Class series, China's first extraterrestrial lecture series that aims to popularize space science and inspire youngsters to pursue their "science and space dreams", according to the manned space agency.

The classes were also special to Wang as it was her who carried out the nation's first space-based lecture inside an experimental space station module to more than 60 million Chinese students during the Shenzhou X mission in June 2013. That lecture made China the second country, following the United States, to have delivered a lesson to schoolchildren from space.

In early February, the astronauts spent Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, inside the orbiting station, becoming the first Chinese people to celebrate the country's most important traditional festival in outer space. They appeared in a live broadcast gala and sent their best wishes to Chinese people.

Several days before their return, Zhai and his crewmates recorded a video in which they answered questions solicited from students across the United States who were curious about their life and tasks.