Shenzhou-23 astronauts enter Tiangong space station, meet Shenzhou-21 crew

The three astronauts aboard China's Shenzhou-23 spaceship have entered the country's Tiangong space station and met with their astronaut colleagues early Monday morning, as they now begin an in-orbit crew handover.

Mission commander Zhu Yangzhu and fellow astronauts Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying successfully entered the station's core module Tianhe after the spaceship made a fast automated rendezvous and docked with the Tianhe module at 02:45 (Beijing Time) on Monday.

The three Shenzhou-21 crew members opened the hatch at 05:13 (Beijing Time) and greeted the new arrivals, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The six astronauts then took group pictures for the eighth in-orbit get-together in China's aerospace history.

Notably, one of the Shenzhou-23 crew members is set to undertake a year-long stay aboard the space station, double the usual duration of previous Shenzhou missions.

The Shenzhou-23 spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 23:08 (Beijing Time) on Sunday.

Shenzhou-23 marks the 40th flight of China's manned spaceflight program and the seventh manned flight mission since the Tiangong space station entered its application and development phase in late 2022.

Shenzhou-23 astronauts enter Tiangong space station, meet Shenzhou-21 crew

China successfully launched the Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship on Sunday night to send three astronauts to its orbiting space station, with newly released footage from China Media Group (CMG) showcasing the stunning ascent from multiple perspectives.

The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 23:08 Beijing Time (15:08 GMT).

The crew members consist of mission commander Zhu Yangzhu, and fellow astronauts Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying, who is also the first astronaut from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

In another notable first, one of the trio is set to stay at the Tiangong space station for a year, double the usual duration of previous Shenzhou missions.

After entering orbit, the Shenzhou-23 spaceship successfully docked with the radial port of Tiangong's core module Tianhe, forming a combination of three modules and three spacecraft.

Shenzhou-23 marks the 40th flight mission of China's manned space program and the seventh manned flight mission since the Tiangong space station entered its application and development phase in late 2022.

Footage shows liftoff of Shenzhou-23 spaceship from multiple angles