A send-off ceremony for the three astronauts of the Shenzhou-21 crewed space mission was held on Friday at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

The astronauts – Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang – appeared in good condition, walking confidently through a crowd of mission staff, students and fans and waving to them with smiles on their faces.

The launch will take place at 11:44 p.m. Beijing Time (0344 GMT) Friday.

If the launch is successful, the astronaut trio will meet the Shenzhou-20 crew at the China Space Station and stay there for about six months to conduct scientific research.

Read more: Shenzhou-21 taikonauts share insights ahead of space mission

(Gong Zhe contributed to the story.)