Watch: China launches manned spaceship to Tiangong space station for six months

China onThursday (Apr 25) launched a manned spaceship into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.The Long March-2F carrier rocket blasted off the Shenzhou-18 spacecraft with three Chinese astronauts on board.

The space mission isChina’sfirstmannedmission this year and 32nd manned flight so far.

The flightis scheduledto reach the Tiangong space station 6.5 hours afterlaunch.

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Earlier in the day, a send-off ceremonywas heldfor the crew members before the launch. The astronauts will stay at the China Space Station for six months and return to the Dongfeng landing site in northChina'sInner Mongolia Autonomous Region in October this year.

Who are the three astronauts?

The three Chinese astronauts are Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu, allof themborn in the 1980s.

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The three persons will carry out sixcargooutbound deliveries via thestation'scargo airlock module and implement two to three extravehicular activities (EVAs).

The mission

The astronauts will“install space debris protection reinforcements for extravehicular piping, cables and critical equipment and carry out extravehicular inspections, as appropriate, to further safeguard the safety of the China Space Station,”announced the China Manned Space Agency.

"During the Shenzhou-18 mission, experimental equipment and related samples will be taken to space, and thecountry'sfirst in-orbit aquatic ecological research project will be implemented. Using zebrafish and hornwort to establish a self-cycling aquatic ecosystem in orbit, the project aims to make a breakthrough in the cultivation of vertebrates in space,"Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the CMSA, said on Wednesday.

"Theworld'sfirst in-orbit stem cell study on theplant'sstem tips will be made to reveal the mechanism of plant evolutionary adaptation to gravity and provide theoretical support for space cropping,"Lin added.

China began constructing its Tiangong space station in 2021, completing the T-shaped facility in late 2022. Since then, the space station has been hosting crews of three astronauts forperiods ofsix months.