China’s Shenzhou 20 astronauts take control of Tiangong space station (video)

China’s outgoing Shenzhou 19 crew have handed over the reins of the Tiangong space station to a new set of astronauts.

The Shenzhou 20 mission launched on a Long March 2F rocket from Jiuquan spaceport in northwest China on April 24. The spacecraft arrived at the Tiangong space station 6.5 hours later, completing its rendezvous and docking at 11:49 a.m. EDT (1549 GMT, 11:49 p.m. Beijing time).

The Shenzhou 19 crew — Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, who have been living aboard Tiangong since October — greeted the three Shenzhou 20 astronauts inside Tiangong around 90 minutes later, once the hatch between the spacecraft and space station was opened.

After spending a few days together, all six astronauts then participated in a handover ceremony on Sunday (April 27), seeing the Shenzhou 20 crew take command of Tiangong.

“This key symbolizes not only the handover between our two crew groups, but also a heavy mission and responsibility. Now, I’m handing the key into your hands, and you will be responsible for managing, caring for and maintaining the space station,” said Cai, commander of Shenzhou 19.

“Thank you, Shenzhou 19 crew, for taking such good care of our space home,” Chen Dong, Shenzhou 20 commander, said after receiving the key. “We assure you and our country and the people that we will, just like you, carefully and meticulously complete every task and do our part well,” said Chen.

Chen’s crewmates are Chen Zhongrui, a former pilot in the People’s Liberation Army Air Force, and Wang Jie, an aerospace engineer, both of whom were selected as astronauts in 2020 and are making their first visits to space. The trio will spend around six months aboard Tiangong.

Their mission will include extravehicular activities, or spacewalks, and outreach events, as well as conducting a range of science experiments and installing and retrieving science payloads outside Tiangong.

The Shenzhou 19 astronauts, meanwhile, are now preparing to return home. They will soon depart in their Shenzhou spacecraft and are due to land in the Dongfeng landing area, near Jiuquan spaceport, on April 29. Their mission involved record-breaking spacewalks, experiments and cooperating with an AI robot.