The three taikonauts aboard China's Shenzhou-12 spacecraft naturally get most of the attention during discussions of their historic 90-day mission. But on their return to Earth, a key piece of equipment takes a starring role: The giant parachute that softens their landing. China's self-developed parachutes have escorted all Shenzhou spacecraft back to Earth smoothly.

The parachute stretches about nine floors or 70 meters from the top to the end that connects the spacecraft. That's the width of a football field.

The 1,200-square-meter parachute is able to slow the craft down to seven meters per second before landing. But it's not the only chute that's deployed.

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