Shenzhou-21 astronauts carrying out planned tasks in orbit

China's Shenzhou-21 astronauts are doing well and carrying out their tasks as planned, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said. The trio were welcomed aboard the station by the Shenzhou-20 crew early on the morning of November 1.

The handover crew period, which typically lasts a few days, was lengthier than usual with both crews overlapping in orbit for two weeks, during which time the party of six collaborated on a breadth of tasks. Following the Shenzhou-20 crew's departure from the space station, the three Shenzhou-21 astronauts have been carrying on as usual.

Over the next six months, the length of their rotation, China's astronauts are scheduled to perform 27 new scientific experiments, covering areas such as space life sciences and biotechnology, space medicine, space material science, microgravity fluid physics and combustion, and new space technologies.