Xi talks with astronauts stationed in space station core module

Chinese President Xi Jinping talked with in-space crew of the Shenzhou-12 manned spaceship at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Wednesday.

The crew are in the space station core module Tianhe.

The three astronauts, Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo, started their three-month in-orbit mission on June 17, when they entered the core module Tianhe after it was docked with the spaceship.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, extended his sincere greetings to the three astronauts on behalf of the CPC Central Committee, the State Council, the Central Military Commission, and people of all ethnic groups in the country.

"You are the first batch of astronauts stationed in the core module Tianhe, and will carry out space missions for three months. All the Chinese people care about your life and work in space all the time," Xi said during the Earth-space call.

Responding to Xi's inquiries about their work, health and living conditions, Nie, commander of the Shenzhou-12 crew, said they felt well and their work went well as scheduled.

Xi said he was delighted to learn the astronauts were in good condition.

The president said the construction of China's space station is a milestone of China's space cause, and will make pioneering contributions to the peaceful use of outer space by humankind.

He hopes the three astronauts will keep up the good work through close cooperation and careful operation, so as to complete their mission.

China launched the Shenzhou-12 manned spaceship at 09:22 on June 17 (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

Approximately 6.5 hours later, Shenzhou-12 successfully completed a fast automated rendezvous and docking with the orbiting Tianhe module, forming a three-module complex with the cargo craft Tianzhou-2.

The Shenzhou-12 mission will help test technologies related to long-term astronaut stays and health care, the recycling and life support system, the supply of space materials, extravehicular activities and operations, and in-orbit maintenance.

These technologies are essential for the construction of the space station and will lay an important foundation for the human exploration of deeper space in the future.