Chinese astronaut Nie Haisheng waves before stepping out of the re-entry capsule of China's Shenzhou-10 spacecraft after it landed in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on June 26, 2013. Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Wednesday, touching down after a successful 15-day mission in which they docked with a space laboratory. #

The Long March 2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou 10 capsule blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province, on June 11, 2013. The Shenzhou 10 capsule carrying three astronauts lifted off on a 15-day mission to dock with a space lab and to educate young people about science. #

Researchers test China's first space station module Tiangong-1 inside the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province, on the edge of the Gobi Desert. China launched the experimental module on September 29, 2011, to lay the groundwork for a future space station underscoring its ambitions to become a major space power. #

Chinese astronauts Fei Junlong (left) and Yang Liwei walk past training simulation equipment during a media tour of the China Astronaut Center at Beijing Aerospace City, on April 29, 2011. #

The Shenzhou 10 spacecraft, carried by a Long March-2F carrier rocket is moved into place at the launch pad in Jiuquan, Gansu province, on the morning of June 3, 2013. #

Chinese astronauts from left, Wang Yaping, Nie Haisheng and Zhang Xiaoguang wave from behind a glass enclosure as they arrive to meet the press at the Jiuquan satellite launch center, on June 10, 2013. #

Zhang An (front) and other Chinese women take part in a test held by China's air force in Lanzhou, Gansu province, in March of 2005. China's air force selected around 30 women pilots including Zhang An, some of whom are reportedly intended to be future astronauts. They will embark on a space mission no later than 2010, working as flight commanders or on-board engineers, an official with China's space program announced. #

Chinese astronauts (from left) Zhang Xiaoguang, Nie Haisheng and Wang Yaping salute in a re-entry capsule during a training at Beijing Aerospace City in Beijing, on April 29, 2013. #

People observe the Long March 2-F rocket loaded with Shenzhou-10 manned spacecraft carrying Chinese astronauts Nie Haisheng, Zhang Xiaoguang and Wang Yaping lift off from the launch pad in the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, on June 11, 2013. #

Chinese chief mission commander Zhang Youxia (center) salutes after he announced the successful launch of the Shenzhou-10 rocket from the Jiuquan space center in the Gobi Desert, on June 11, 2013. #

A policeman stands guard next to a component of the Shenzhou-10 manned spacecraft which was found in Badain Jaran Desert after the launch, in Alxa League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on June 12, 2013. #

China's Shenzhou-7 spaceship, viewed by a small monitoring satellite six seconds after it was released from the spaceship on Sept. 27, 2008. Launched about two hours after Chinese astronaut Zhai Zhigang finished the country's first spacewalk, the monitoring satellite has sent back over 1,000 pictures of the spaceship, Xinhua said. #

In this video grab taken at the Beijing Space Command and Control Center released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Saturday, September 27, 2008, Chinese astronaut Zhai Zhigang steps outside the orbit module of the Shenzhou-7 spacecraft for a spacewalk. #

Students watch a live broadcast of a lecture given by Shenzhou-10 spacecraft astronauts on the Tiangong-1 space module, at a school in Beijing, on June 20, 2013. Chinese astronauts of the Shenzhou-10 spacecraft gave a lecture from the Tiangong-1 space module, some 340 km (211 mi) above the earth. According to Xinhua News Agency, more than 60 million students and teachers watched the live broadcast on television across the country. #

Chinese technicians at the Jiuquan Space Center monitor the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft as it prepares to link with the Tiangong-1 module just over a week into a manned space mission which included China's first female astronaut, following an automatic docking, on June 24, 2012. #

A photo of the giant screen at the Jiuquan space center shows Chinese astronauts (from left) Liu Wang, Jing Haipeng and Liu Yang in the Tiangong-1 module on June 18, 2012. The three astronauts entered an orbiting module for the first time, in a move broadcast live on China's state television. #

A student looks at an iPad as his class watches a live broadcast of a lecture given by Shenzhou-10 spacecraft astronauts on the Tiangong-1 space module, at a primary school in Quzhou, Zhejiang province, on June 20, 2013. #

Pupils fly paper planes during a live broadcast of a lecture given by Shenzhou-10 spacecraft astronauts aboard the Tiangong-1 space module, at a primary school in Hengyang, Hunan province, on June 20, 2013. #

The return capsule of the Shenzhou-10 spacecraft lands in the grasslands of north China's Inner Mongolia region, on June 26, 2013, following a 15-day mission in space. #

Chinese astronauts, from left, Zhang Xiaoguang, Nie Haisheng and Wang Yaping celebrate after stepping out of the re-entry capsule of China's Shenzhou 10 spacecraft following its successful landing at the main landing site in Siziwang Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on June 26, 2013. #