Shenzhou 12 spacecraft launched 2011

Shenzhou 12 crew (L-R): Tang Hongbo, Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming

Shenzhou 12 mission patch

Shenzhou 12, launched June 17, 2021, carried three taikonauts on the first flight to the Tiangong space station.  It was also the first crewed Chinese flight since Shenzhou 11 in 2016. Its crew consisted of Commander Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo. The crew conducted two EVAs during their stay. 

Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo conducted the first spacewalk on July 4, completing installation of the station's robotic arm, and installed exterior equipment for use on future missions.  Their EVA lasted 6 hours 46 minutes.

The two taikonauts conducted a second EVA on August 20 to test spacecraft equipment, install a backup thermal control pump, and installed and raised panoramic camera D on the Tianhe core module.  The EVA lasted almost 6 hours.

The crew returned to Earth on September 17, after more than 92 days in space.

Happy birthmonth, astronaut Tang Hongbo!

Tang Hongbo, born in October 1975, is an astronaut for the People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC) in China.  He went into space as part of the crew aboard Shenzhou 12, which launched in June 2021, to the space station Tiangong.  He conducted an EVA with Liu Boming which lasted for nearly 7 hours.  He spent over 92 days in space.