Chinese astronauts return to earth "Females have a harder time adjusting to gravity than males," said a commentator on China Central Television. Of course their muscles are less strong. The three astronauts were then taken to Beijing by helicopter for a medical assessment. "The Tiangong [module] was our home in the sky, it is cosy and comfortable," said Ms Liu, as the three astronauts sat in folding chairs just outside the landing capsule. I am proud of my country. "It feels so good to have my feet on the ground and to be home," said Mr Liu The crew successfully carried out China's first manual space docking, joining their Shenzhou 9 space craft to the orbiting Tiangong-1 module and then entering the module and staying there for most of their 13 day trip. The manoeuvre, first carried out by the Americans and the Russians in the 1960s, requires a delicate touch: both vessels were moving at thousands of miles per hour around the Earth. It was the main goal of China's fourth manned space trip; the first mission since a spacewalk in 2008. There is immense national pride in China for its space programme and Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, said the mission had been a triumph of "new socialism" guided by Hu Jintao, the president. Mr Wen watched the landing from the command centre, and applauded enthusiastically. As China steps up its exploration of space, the United States has said it will not test a new rocket to take astronauts into space until 2017. Instead, Nasa has begun investing in private firms that will provide commercial space flight services. Russia, the world's other major space superpower, has said manned missions are no longer a priority. Earlier this week, the Chinese government said the total cost of its space programme, from 1992 to the end of the next Shenzhou mission, will be around 39 billion yuan (£3.9 billion).