Three Chinese astronauts made a jubilant return to Earth on Sunday after successfully completing the country’s first ever spacewalk, an event the premier said was “a stride forward” in China’s space history.

The spacewalk was mainly aimed at testing China’s mastery of the technology involved. The sole task of mission commander Zhai Zhigang was to retrieve an experimental rack attached to the outside of the orbital module. He remained outside for about 13 minutes.

Zhai, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng stayed inside for about 46 minutes to adapt to Earth’s gravity before crawling out of the narrow entrance. They were declared healthy after medical examinations inside the module.

“This mission’s success is a milestone; a stride forward,” Premier Wen Jiabao said at mission control.