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What will life be like for the astronauts on China space mission?
- The three-man crew arrived on board the ‘heavenly palace’ where they will spend the next three months on Thursday
- There have been several improvements to accommodation and other facilities for China’s first crewed space mission in five years
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The three astronauts on board China’s Shenzhou-12 – which left earth at 9.22am on Thursday from the Jiuquan satellite launch centre in the Gobi Desert – assembled at 5am at the nearby Wentian Pavilion for breakfast ahead of the morning ceremony.
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According to the “Our Space” media centre – the official account for commander Nie Haisheng and his crew, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo – the astronauts would eat lunch on board the Shenzhou spacecraft. They entered the core module of China’s in-progress space station, in plenty of time for dinner after the launch vessel successfully completed its docking manoeuvre.
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China successfully launches Shenzhou-12 manned space station mission
China successfully launches Shenzhou-12 manned space station mission
During their three months on board Tianhe, the core module for the Tiangong – “heavenly palace” – station, the astronauts will perform two spacewalks.
The backup female astronaut nicknamed “Steel Rose”
While all eyes on Thursday were on the primary crew for the mission, another three astronauts were selected as backup. Among them was Wang Yaping, who became China’s second woman in space in 2013.
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Wang – affectionally known as “Steel Rose” among China’s online community – is the only woman chosen for the latest mission and received significant public attention ahead of the launch.
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