Beijing: The Shenzhou-23 spacecraft has arrived at the Tiangong space station. China successfully launched the manned Shenzhou-23 spacecraft to the Tiangong space station on Sunday night, marking the first time a female astronaut from Hong Kong has participated in the mission.
According to Thai News Agency, the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft, carrying a crew of three - mission commander Zhu Yangzhu, rookie astronaut and former Chinese Air Force pilot Zhang Zhiyuan, and Li Jiaying, who made history as the first astronaut from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to travel to space and the fourth female astronaut from China - launched into space aboard a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China late Sunday night Beijing time. It then smoothly docked automatically with the main module "Tianhe" of the International Space Station. Afterward, the three members of the Shenzhou-23 mission boarded the Tiangong space station, where they were greeted with smiles and hugs by the Shenzhou-21 mission astronauts, celebrating their successful ascent into space.
Throughout their mission, this crew will be responsible for more than 100 new science and technology projects. One of the mission's main goals is to set a record for China's first continuous one-year orbital stay, surpassing the usual six-month rotations. This mission aims to conduct experiments and collect in-depth data on human body research in space, including studying the limits of human capabilities and adaptation to prolonged space environments. This raw data is crucial for future human missions to the moon.
After all handover is complete, the Shenzhou-21 astronaut crew will move into the capsule for separation from the space station and safely return to Earth at the Dongfeng landing site, as scheduled.