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 birthday, Chinese astronaut Wang Yaping!

Wang Yaping, born January 1980 in Shandong, China, is the second Chinese woman in space, and the first Chinese woman to perform a spacewalk.  She set a record for the longest stay in space by a female Chinese astronaut in April 2022 with a total of 197 days.

Her first trip into space was aboard Shenzhou 10 as Laboratory Assistant to Tiangong 1 in June 2013.  The crew returned to Earth 14 days and 14.5 hours later.

Her second mission was aboard Shenzhou 13 as Operator to the Tianhe core module, the first part of the Tiangong space station in October 2021. During the mission, she conducted an EVA in November 2021 with fellow astronaut Zhai Zhigang to install the robotic arm suspension and perform some routine tests. The EVA lasted 6 hours, 25 minutes. The crew returned to Earth in April 2022.