A confirmation has arrived that three Chinese taikonauts of the Shenzhou 12 mission have reached the Tianhe core module of the Chinese space station with an automated docking maneuver. They blasted off about 6.5 hours earlier atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. They are the first crew of the Chinese space station. This is the longest-duration mission in the history of the Chinese space program but it’s only the first, as crew rotation is scheduled about every three months.

The three taikonauts, as the Chinese call their astronauts, of the Shenzhou 12 mission are Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo. The information released by the Chinese authorities is limited. Commander Nie Haisheng is 56 years old and is a veteran who already participated in the Shenzhou 6 space missions in 2005 and the Shenzhou 10 in 2013. Liu Boming is 54 years old and participated in the Shenzhou 7 space mission in 2008. Tang Hongbo is 45 years old and he’s on his first space mission.

Various tests were carried out in crewed missions in the Tiangong space laboratories that were put into orbit in recent years precisely to develop the various technologies needed for the operation of a crewed space station. The Shenzhou 12 mission is more difficult due to the much longer duration.

The taikonauts who reached the Tianhe module, launched on April 29, 2021, will have to test the various systems, verifying in particular that the life support systems are functioning correctly and can continue to work for a few years. In the course of their mission, in addition to various tasks such as scientific experiments, two spacewalks are planned to install some instruments outside the Tianhe module.

Even the two veteran taikonauts will go beyond their limits on a much longer mission than their previous ones. So far, the Chinese obtained data from foreign missions but will now start collecting data from their taikonauts about their physical and mental reactions after being in a state of microgravity for three months.

The arrival of the crew on the Chinese space station, which will be expanded over time, represents another milestone in China’s ambitious space program. For many years the Chinese have been working to catch up with the USA and Russia and now they have a small but functioning space station.