BEIJING — Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Monday after a six-month stay aboard the Tiangong space station as part of China’s push to become a global leader in space exploration.

A parachute slowed the capsules’ nighttime descent to a remote landing site in China’s Inner Mongolia region. It emerged after the crew touched down at 1:24 p.m. The Chinese national flag affixed to the ground near the capsule fluttered in the wind.

In recent years, the country’s space program has returned rocks from the Moon and landed a rover on Mars. It aims to put a man on the moon by 2030, making China the second country after the United States to do so.

Space station astronauts returned for the final six-month mission after welcoming a replacement three-person crew last week. The new team, consisting of one woman and two men, will conduct experiments, spacewalks and install equipment to protect the station from space debris.

A space agency official said in April that Tiangong maneuvered several times to avoid debris and partially lost power when debris hit its solar wing’s power cables, according to a report by the official Xinhua News Agency.

China is among the countries whose still-growing satellite constellation has created space debris, including the disintegration of a rocket stage in August during the launch of the first 18 satellites for a global internet service similar to Starlink. It is operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Tiangong, which means Heavenly Palace, was completed two years ago and revolves around the world.

So far, only Chinese astronauts have gone to the space station, but a space agency spokesman said last week that China is in talks about selecting and training astronauts from other countries to join missions.

Astronauts from various countries have traveled to the International Space Station, but China’s participation in this program has been blocked primarily by U.S. concerns about the military’s participation in China’s space program.

China unveiled an ambitious plan last month to become a leader in space science research by 2050, along with its advances in space exploration.