In Pics: Chinese three-person Shenzhou 14 mission arrives at Tiangong space station for six-month stay
Lift-off
The astronauts’ spaceship lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert.
Astronauts reach space station
The capsule, which was carrying the astronauts, docked at the Earth-facing port of Tianhe at 5:42 am EDT (0942 GMT), as per a Weibo post of the China Manned Space Agency.
The crew
Commander Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe are the three Shenzhou 14 crew-members. They may spend about six months aboard the 54-foot-long (16.6 meters) Tianhe, which means "Harmony of the Heavens". In April 2021, Tianhe was launched to low Earth orbit.
Install new equipment at Tianhe
In space, the astronauts will carry out several scientific experiments and educational outreach activities, spacewalks, etc. They will also install some new equipment inside and outside Tianhe, Chinese space officials said.
The Tiangong space station
This mission will also oversee the arrival of two other modules of Tiangong. The module named Wentian ("Quest for the Heavens") will be launched in July and Mengtian ("Dreaming of the Heavens") will arrive in October. Wentian and Mengtian are likely to attach on either side of Tianhe to form a T-shaped orbiting outpost.
)
)
)
)
)