Three astronauts stand in their suits in front of Chinese officials and waveImage source, Reuters
Image caption, The three astronauts will live on the space station for six months

Three Chinese astronauts are on their way to the space station.

China was excluded from the International Space Station in 2011.

The new crew will be living on the station for six months.

During the weeklong handover period, the station will be able to house six astronauts.

The new crew lifted off on Tuesday in the "Divine Vessel" from the satellite launch centre in north-west China.

The station is expected to operate for around 10 years and run experiments in near-zero gravity.

The departing crew is expected to come back to Earth in the middle of next month.

The new crew will focus on installing equipment and facilities around the space station. By the end of the year, construction is expected to be finished.

China's space programme has landed robotic rovers on Mars and the Moon before.

Red flags flying in front of the Chinese rocketImage source, Getty Images

The executive director of the International Astronautical Federation thinks the world is watching China's space capabilities.

As the country faces ongoing Covid lockdowns and protests, the mission has given Chinese citizens a chance to celebrate. Many people wrote on social media, "long live the motherland!"

The leader of the team is a 57-year-old man named Fei Junlong. He hasn't been in space since then.

There will be two crewed missions to the station each year over the next decade.

Macau and Hong Kong have been excluded from the selection process for astronauts in the past.

Timeline of China's space plan
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