Crewmembers of the Shenzhou XV and Shenzhou XVI pose for a photo inside the Tianhe core module of the Tiangong space station on May 30, 2023. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
BEIJING/JIUQUAN – The three astronauts aboard China's Shenzhou XVI spaceship entered the country's space station and met with another astronaut trio on Tuesday, starting a new round of in-orbit crew handover.
The Shenzhou XVI crew opened the hatch at 6:22 pm (Beijing Time). The three space station occupants greeted the new arrivals, and they took group pictures.
The space get-together kicked off the second in-orbit crew rotation in China's space station.
According to the China Manned Space Agency, the six astronauts will live and work together for about five days to complete planned tasks and handover work.
China's Shenzhou XVI crewed spaceship earlier successfully docked with the space station combination. The spaceship, launched on Tuesday morning, conducted a fast automated rendezvous and docking with the space station, and docked with the radial port of its core module Tianhe at 4:29 pm Tuesday (Beijing Time), said the CMSA.
The whole process took approximately 6.5 hours, it added.
This videograb made from CCTV broadcast shows Shenzhou XVI spacecraft docking with the Tiangong space station, on May 30, 2023. (PHOTO / CHINA DAILY)
The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 9:31 am Tuesday (Beijing Time), sending three astronauts to the space for a five-month mission.
About 10 minutes after the launch, Shenzhou XVI separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit. The crew members, consisting of Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao, are in good shape and the launch is a complete success, the CMSA said.
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It is the first crewed mission for the application and development stage of China's space station, and the 29th flight mission since the country's manned space program was approved and initiated.
Intensive tasks
During their mission, the Shenzhou XVI astronauts will conduct large-scale in-orbit tests and experiments in various fields.
"The crew will conduct more than 50 in-orbit tests and experiments on space science and application payloads, the highest so far by any Chinese team who has been to space," said Huang Weifen, chief designer of the China manned space program's astronaut system.
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They are expected to make high-level scientific achievements in the study of novel quantum phenomena, high-precision space time-frequency systems, the verification of general relativity, and the origin of life.
This combo photo taken on May 30, 2023 shows the Shenzhou XVI manned spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, being launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
Like its predecessors, the crew will give space class to students on Earth and conduct other public welfare activities, Huang said.
They will also carry out in-orbit health monitoring and physical exercises, training and rehearsals, extravehicular activities as well as equipment installation, debugging, maintenance and repair, and material management.
In order to improve the quality of work and life of the astronauts in the space station, the diet of the astronauts has been optimized.
"We have developed 11 types of new food, and the Shenzhou XVI crew will enjoy more than 150 kinds of food and drinks," Huang said.
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She also revealed that the astronauts have carried a plant cultivation device to the space station, which will not only provide a small number of fresh vegetables and fruit in orbit but also help regulate their emotional and psychological well-being through planting.
Future missions
The Shenzhou XVI crew will witness the dockings of the Tianzhou-5 cargo craft and the Shenzhou XVII crewed spaceship, as well as the departures of the Shenzhou XV manned spaceship and Tianzhou-5, the CMSA deputy director Lin Xiqiang told a press conference on Monday.
Jing Haipeng (center), Zhu Yangzhu (right), and Gui Haichao meet the media at a send-off ceremony early on the morning of May 30, 2023 in front of their residential building at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert. (WANG JIANGBO / FOR CHINA DAILY)
As China's space station has entered the stage of application and development, the handover of works of different groups of astronauts and cargo supply missions will be implemented regularly in the following flight missions after Shenzhou XVI.
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Large-scale space science and technology experiments will be carried out in the following missions, including almost 1,000 scientific research and application projects in four fields, namely space life science and human body research, microgravity physics science, space astronomy and Earth science, and new space technology and application, Lin said.
This time, we are honored to bring our children's best youth, friendship, and dreams into space. We should sow the seeds of science, friendship, and dreams on China's space station and let them take root and blossom.
Jing Haipeng, Commander of the Shenzhou XVI crew
China will launch an extension module at an appropriate time and expand the basic configuration of the space station from the current T shape to a cross shape to further support the in-orbit scientific experiments and create better working and living conditions for astronauts.
Common cause of humanity
With the ability to carry out crewed missions on a regular basis with a frequency of twice a year, China is looking forward to and welcomes the participation of foreign astronauts in the country's space station flight missions.
Lin said China is steadily pushing forward the planned cooperation projects with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, the European Space Agency and other organizations.
Meanwhile, China has actively expanded exchanges with emerging space nations, focusing on in-orbit scientific experiments and applications, and joint flights for astronauts to the space station, he added.
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The Shenzhou XVI mission has brought "special gifts" in the form of paintings by children from 10 African countries that convey good wishes for China's space station.
Exploring the vast universe is the common cause of all humanity and a shared dream of the whole society, regardless of race and age, said Jing Haipeng, commander of the Shenzhou XVI crew.
"This time, we are honored to bring our children's best youth, friendship, and dreams into space. We should sow the seeds of science, friendship, and dreams on China's space station and let them take root and blossom," the commander added.