BEIJING, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) — The Shenzhou-14 astronauts successfully entered the Mengtian lab module of China’s space station Tiangong at 3:12 p.m. (Beijing Time) on Thursday, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

Following up, the Shenzhou-14 crew in the space station will welcome the subsequent arrival of the Tianzhou-5 cargo craft and Shenzhou-15 crewed spaceship, the agency said.

The Shenzhou-14 and Shenzhou-15 crew members will then conduct the first in-orbit crew rotation in China’s space history.

China launched the space lab module Mengtian on Oct. 31, taking the construction of the country’s space station into the final stage.

This screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Nov. 3, 2022 shows the Shenzhou-14 astronaut Chen Dong entering the Mengtian lab module. The Shenzhou-14 astronauts successfully entered the Mengtian lab module of China's space station Tiangong at 3:12 p.m. (Beijing Time) on Thursday, according to the China Manned Space Agency.