OnThursday, the Shenzhou 18 manned spacecraft from the People’s Republic of China successfully docked with the Tiangong Space Station, also part of the Beijing space project.

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The spacecraft took off from Jiuquan launch centre in northwestern China at 20:59 (Chinese time) and was launched on the Long March 2F rocket.

In the mission were 3 Chinese cosmonauts in which they are, Ye Guangfu, fighter aircraft pilot who was already a crew member on the Shenzhou-13 mission in 2021. He is joined by Li Cong and Li Guangsu, who travel into space for the first time.

According to the Chinese Space Agency, the astronauts will remain on the Tiangong space station for six months, during which they plan to carry out experiments on various physics-related topics.

The new crew will replace the Shenzhou-17 mission team, which took off into space in October.

The arrival of Shenzhou 18 takes place within the framework of the Chinese Space Agenda, which seeks to send astronauts to the Moon by 2030.