3 Chinese astronauts settling in for 6-month stay on Tiangong space station

The three Shenzhou-14 astronauts - commander Chen Dong and Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe - are settling in for a lengthy stay aboard China's Tiangong space station. The astronauts have been inspecting and setting up the crew environment, making sure the drinking water, oxygen production, sleeping conditions, sanitation and other systems are working well, said Wang Saijin, deputy chief designer of the China human space program's astronaut system at the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center. Tianhe was quite ready to host the six-month-long Shenzhou 14 mission, Chinese space officials said. "The space station complex is in great condition for the manned mission," Gao Xu, deputy chief designer of the China manned space program's astronaut system under the China Academy of Space Technology, told CCTV+. Wentian and Mengtian will attach on either side of Tianhe, forming a complex about 20% as massive as the International Space Station. Speaking of the future plan for China's space station, Huang Weifen, chief designer for the China Manned Space Program's taikonaut training system, said China has been cooperating with other countries. "We also sent taikonauts to each other for training. Such exchanges aim for the taikonauts from the European Space Agency to come to the China Space Station. So, we've been making relevant technical preparations and discussing how we should select and train," Huang added.