Astronaut crews of Shenzhou-16 and Shenzhou-17 completed in-orbit handover on Sunday, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

A handover ceremony was held on the China Space Station, where the new crew received the key to the space station, which looks like a metal crank puller with a red Chinese knot as decoration.

The Shezhou-17 manned spacecraft was sent to the China Space Station from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Thursday.

The Shenzhou-17 crew is expected to stay in orbit for nearly six months, carrying out several extravehicular activities, and conducting many experiments and tests in the areas of basic physics in a microgravity environment, materials science, life science, space medicine and space technology.

The Shenzhou-16 astronaut crew has completed all scheduled tasks and will return to the Dongfeng Landing Site on October 31. Supporting personnel at the landing site have made every preparation for the return of Shenzhou-16 from space.

Shenzhou is the code name for China's manned space missions. The country has built a space station in orbit in recent years and is planning to set up a research base on the moon.