China’s Shenzhou 17 astronauts are currently in space enjoying the weightless environment while conducting numerous scientific experiments. The crew always sends back some fascinating choice clips of their daily activities back to Earth. The Shenzhou 17 space station crew includes Mission commander Tang Hongbo, a veteran of 2021’s Shenzhou 12 mission to orbit, and astronauts Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin.
The crew arrived in orbit on Oct. 26 to continue the scientific research of the Shenzhou 16 mission crew who has been onboard since May. The outgoing crew members welcomed the incoming crew with a warm greeting.
The Shenzhou 17 astronauts are the youngest crew the Chinese space agency has ever sent to space. The average age of the crew is 38. Part of their tasks aboard the space station is to fix the solar panels that got damaged by space debris.
This mission will be the first time the Chinese astronauts will conduct extensive repair outside their space station. The Shenzhou 17 mission is the sixth manned mission to the Tiangong space station since 2021.
Since they arrived at the space station about a month ago, the crew has enabled themselves with the daily routines of moving equipment outside the space station for experiments, managing facilities, and equipment, and maintaining other science facilities for long-term research, a report from Chinese Broadcaster CCTV reveals.
The crew will also conduct “medical care skill training” to increase their physical fitness and meet the demands of living for extended periods in orbit.
How China’s Youngest Space Station Crew Captures Breathtaking Views From Space (video)
China’s human spaceflight agency released videos of the crewmembers as they enjoyed their meals and participated in exercises recently. The crew also captured their footage like a breathtaking view of their Shenzhou 17 spacecraft docking with Tiangong. One of the footage recently released shows the breathtaking views of Earth from Space.
The crew will spend another five months aboard the Tiangong space station. Before they leave, they will welcome the arrival of a new cargo spacecraft named Tianzhou 7, in early next year. The crew will also be conducting their first extravehicular activity anytime soon.
