Chinese astronauts arrive at Tiangong Space Station to prepare for its completion

Three Chinese astronauts, or Taikonauts, arrived Sunday morning in the unfinished Tiangong space station's Tianhe core module, where they will stay for six months to help complete its construction (via Space.com). The Shenzhou 14 spacecraft took off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 10:44 a.m. ET (10:44 a.m. local time) on Saturday and docked with Tianhe at 5:42 a.m. ET (5:42 a.m. local time). did. did.

The three-man crew includes Chen Dong, Cai Xueze and Liu Yang, who originally made history in 2012 during the country's Shenzhou 9 mission as the first Chinese woman in space. While they are in orbit, the crew is expected to perform a number of operations. Prepare the station for spacewalks and the arrival of two additional lab modules, the Ventian module launching next month and the Mengtian in October. As noted by SPACE.com, the two modules will join on opposite sides of the Tianhe core module to form a T-shaped station that will be smaller than the International Space Station (ISS).

China aims to complete construction of Tiangong by the end of this year, with the launch of the Xuntian Telescope Module slated for 2023. Shenzhou is China's third crewed mission to the space station since the launch of the Tianhe module on 14 April 2021. The latest trio is set to welcome the Shenzhou 15 crew to the station later this year, the first time the station will have six people.