A weather forecast on Wednesday from meteorological authorities with north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has indicated conditions will suit the scheduled return to Earth of the country's Shenzhou-9 astronauts later this week.

A return capsule is due to land Shenzhou-9's three-member crew in Inner Mongolia's Siziwang Banner (county) on June 29, when the region is expected to see clouds with clear spells.

The landing zone will receive light to moderate rain with thunder form Wednesday to Thursday, according to the regional meteorological bureau.

And the weather is now changing to a beneficial condition that meets the requirements of the landing, said Han Jingwei, the bureau's chief weatherman.

The bureau has undertaken extensive observation ahead of the landing, with June a month that typically contains the year's most complicated weather, he added.

Astronauts aboard Shenzhou-9 conducted China's first manual space docking procedure on June 24, when they piloted their spacecraft to meet the orbiting Tiangong-1 lab module.

The landing zone has been used for all previous Shenzhou space missions.

(Xinhua News Agency June 27, 2012)