HELSINKI — Three Chinese astronauts arrived at the Tiangong space station Thursday aboard the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft, hours after launching from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
Shenzhou-20 docked with the radial port of the Tianhe core module of the Tiangong space station at around 11:49 a.m. Eastern (15:49 UTC) April 24, according to the the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO).
The spacecraft, carrying commander Chen Dong and crewmates Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, launched atop a Long March 2F rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 5:17 a.m. Eastern (0917 UTC).
The trio will soon take over control of Tiangong in the coming days from the incumbent Shenzhou-19 crew, who are completing their own six-month-long mission aboard the space station. Shenzhou-19 commander Cai Xuzhe and colleagues Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze are due to return to Earth early Eastern April 29, targeting the Dongfeng landing site near Jiuquan.
Shenzhou-20 is the sixth three-person mission to arrive at Tiangong since the three-module outpost was completed in late 2022. Chen is commanding his second mission to Tiangong, following the 2022 Shenzhou-14 mission, which saw the addition of Tiangong’s two experiment modules, Wentian and Mengtian, to the Tianhe core module.
Chen Zhongrui, a former air force pilot, and Wang, an engineer with CASC, are making their first visits to space, having been selected for China’s third batch of astronauts back in 2020. China has since made a fourth selection round, in 2024, with those astronauts potentially being available for flight selection starting next year.
The six-month-long Shenzhou-20 mission will include a number of extravehicular activities, science and application experiments, outreach activities and more. It will also receive the Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft.
Life sciences experiments
Shenzhou-20 life science experiments will, according to CMSEO, include zebrafish, planarians—a type of flatworm—and Streptomyces, an aerobic bacteria and a source of antibiotics.
The zebrafish experiment will be based on the zebrafish-duckweed binary ecosystem established in the Shenzhou-18 mission to investigate the regulatory role of protein homeostasis in bone loss and cardiovascular dysfunction caused by microgravity, while the planarians will be used to understand the basic mechanism of regeneration. Streptomyces behavior in space will be studied, aiming to support microbial tech development by analyzing useful enzyme and substance expression.
China approved its space station plan in 1992. CMSEO is preparing to expand Tiangong in the future. The first move will be sending a multi-functional expansion module with six docking ports to the orbital outpost. This expansion could allow for greater possibilities for international, tourist and commercial visits without disrupting core operations.
The launch of Shenzhou-20 was China’s 21st orbital launch of 2025, and occurred on the 55th anniversary of the launch of Dongfanghong-1, the country’s first satellite. The Shenzhou-20 launch follows the launch of six Shiyan-27 classified experimental satellites via a Long March 6A rocket from Taiyuan April 18.
Crewed lunar progress
The crew were revealed in an April 23 press conference at Jiuquan. During the conference, Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the CMSEO, provided an update on the country’s ambition of conducting a crewed lunar landing before 2030, stating that development work was progressing smoothly.
“Key components—including the Long March 10 launch vehicle, the Mengzhou crewed spacecraft, the Lanyue lunar lander, the Wangyu lunar spacesuit, and the Tansuo crewed lunar rover—are currently undergoing prototype development and testing as planned,” Lin said.
He added that a lunar remote sensing satellite has completed project approval and competitive selection processes. The state-owned China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) was chosen for the project in March. Lin added that ground systems including launch sites, tracking and control communications and landing zones are also being developed according to schedule.
Lin stated that China has completed early-stage testing for its crewed lunar mission, including electrical checks for the Long March 10, a high-altitude drop test for the Mengzhou spacecraft, and thermal testing of the Lanyue lander. Upcoming tests at Jiuquan and Wenchang spaceports include a zero-altitude escape test for the Mengzhou spacecraft, integrated landing and takeoff verification for the Lanyue lander, static fire and low-altitude flight tests for the Long March 10, as well as a maximum dynamic pressure escape test for Mengzhou.
The spokesperson added that these large-scale tests represent the first integrated verifications of new products and technologies for the crewed lunar landing mission, describing the tests as highly challenging, with complex preparations and tight schedules, and involving significant risks and difficulties.
Regarding future international cooperation in low Earth orbit, Lin reiterated that CMSEO was working with Pakistan towards selecting an astronaut to fly to Tiangong as a payload expert.
“At the same time, we are indeed negotiating with relevant countries on the participation of their astronauts in the Chinese space station flight, and we will release relevant progress information in due course,” Lin said.
