<h5>What is the average age of the astronaut team?</h5><p>Recently, three Chinese astronauts (also known as taikonauts in China) were launched on the Shenzhou-17 spacecraft to the Tiangong space station. They will be staying on the space station for six months. They are the youngest crew that China has sent to space. The average age of the team is 38.</p><p>This is China's sixth manned space station mission since 2021. The new astronaut team will replace the previous group who have been on board since May.</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/newsahoot.appspot.com/o/china-sends-youngest-astronaut-team-to-tiangong-space-station%2FThree%20astronauts.jpg?alt=media&amp;token=12f0b21d-ea80-4ed0-97ea-5991ce267629&amp;_gl=1*nlbp24*_ga*MTIzNjQ0ODg2NS4xNjgzNzk5MjMy*_ga_CW55HF8NVT*MTY5ODY0ODkwOC4yNzcuMS4xNjk4NjQ5NTA2LjM1LjAuMA.."><figcaption>The Shenzhou-17 three-member crew. Photo by Hua Chunying 华春莹</figcaption></figure><h5>What will the astronauts be doing aboard the space station?</h5><div class="raw-html-embed"><figure> <video width="100%" controls=""> <source src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/newsahoot.appspot.com/o/china-sends-youngest-astronaut-team-to-tiangong-space-station%2FLift%20off.mp4?alt=media&amp;token=01151974-581a-43b8-8303-8fd5b6d4c9e9&amp;_gl=1*tv70zq*_ga*MTIzNjQ0ODg2NS4xNjgzNzk5MjMy*_ga_CW55HF8NVT*MTY5ODY0ODkwOC4yNzcuMS4xNjk4NjQ5NjI4LjE4LjAuMA.." type="video/mp4"> </video> <figcaption>Launch of the Shenzhou-17 spacecraft. Video by China Xinhua News.</figcaption> </figure></div><p>The three astronauts reached the space station only 6.5 hours after taking off and were greeted by the previous team. The new crew will spend the next six months doing various scientific experiments and maintenance activities. They will also perform a spacewalk to check and maybe repair the space station’s solar arrays.</p><p>The solar arrays have been hit by space debris or micrometeoroids. This will be the first time Chinese astronauts will perform repairs outside the space station. The previous crew will be returning to Earth on 31st October 2023.</p><h5>What do we know about the Tiangong space station?</h5><p>Tiangong, China's space station, orbits the Earth at an altitude of 340 to 450 km. The word ‘Tiangong’ is Chinese for "Heavenly Palace”. It is placed in the lower-earth orbit. All the three modules that make up the station were launched between 2021 and 2022. China’s first crew to visit the space station arrived in 2021.</p><p>The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) plans to keep the Tiangong occupied by at least three astronauts for at least a decade. During that time, various scientific experiments will be conducted by China and other countries. Tiangong was fully completed in 2022 and can accommodate three astronauts. It will be operational for over 15 years.</p><p>China also has plans to expand the space station in the future to accommodate more astronauts. The only other active space station is the International Space Station, which can accommodate seven astronauts.</p>

China Sends Youngest Astronaut Team to Tiangong Space Station

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China Sends Youngest Astronaut Team to Tiangong Space Station

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