Shenzhou 12

Shenzhou 12 was originally planned as the second visiting mission for the experimental Tiangong-2 space station, following Shenzhou 11. In 2016, plans for a second mission to Tiangong-2 were cancelled, and Shenzhou 12 was designated as the first crewed mission to the Tiangong space station, which when visited by Shenzhou 12 would consist of one module, the Tianhe module, launched on 29 April 2021.[9] The flight marked the first of four crewed missions scheduled to dock with the Tiangong station by the end of construction in 2022.[6]

Diagram of a Shenzhou spacecraft, like the one that flew on Shenzhou 12.

The spacecraft was launched on a Long March-2F launch vehicle in Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China's Gobi Desert on 17 June 2021.[5] After about six-and-a-half hours flight it arrived at Chinese space station Tiangong.[10] The mission docked with the Tianhe core module at 07:54 UTC, 17 June 2021, following the launch and successful docking of Tianzhou 2, the second flight of China's Tianzhou cargo resupply craft. Tianzhou 2 was able to remain docked, because the Tianhe core module has four docking ports, unlike China's two previous space stations which only had one.[11]

The crew entered the Tianhe core module later at 10:48 UTC becoming the first visitors to the Tiangong space station.[2] Planned tasks for the crew included mechanical arm operation and extravehicular activities, as well as verification of a series of key technologies such as long-term residence in space, recycling of resources and life support of astronauts.[12]

Two spacewalks were planned to occur during the crew's approximately three-month stay in orbit.[2] Shenzhou 13 was in standby for any possible rescue mission.[13]

Shenzhou 12 spacecraft is based heavily on Soyuz MS technology. Shenzhou was approved in 1992 as part of the Chinese space program Project 921, and has a design similar to the Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

In the front of the spacecraft, there is the orbital module which contains an androgynous docking ring based on APAS technology, which is used to dock to the Tianhe core module. In the middle is the reentry module containing the crew which is a scaled-up version of the Soyuz descent module. The rear of the spacecraft is the service module which is equipped with engines, fuel tanks, and solar panels.[18]

The crew was publicly announced in a press conference on 16 June 2021.[19]

PLASSF Major General Nie Haisheng is a veteran of Shenzhou 6 and Shenzhou 10. Major General Liu Boming was a crew member on Shenzhou 7, while Senior Colonel Tang Hongbo made his first flight to space. By the time Shenzhou 12 completed the planned 90-day mission, Nie reached 110 days in space, a new record for a Chinese astronaut.[18]

Position	Crew member
Commander	Nie Haisheng, PLAAC Third spaceflight
Operator	Liu Boming, PLAAC Second spaceflight
System Operator	Tang Hongbo, PLAAC First spaceflight

Back-up crew

Position	Crew member
Commander	Zhai Zhigang, PLAAC
Operator	Wang Yaping, PLAAC
System operator	Ye Guangfu, PLAAC

Russia's Roscosmos and the European Space Agency have stated their intention of sending their own astronauts to the Chinese station. Similar cooperation could extend to hosting astronauts from some developing countries in the future.[20] The Chinese station is also preparing to host 1,000 scientific experiments from China and other countries several of which have already been launched and are ongoing.[21]

The follow-up Tianzhou 3 uncrewed cargo resupply mission was scheduled to launch on 20 September 2021 for the Shenzhou 13 mission.[22]

• Shenzhou 9
• Shenzhou 10
• Shenzhou 11

• Media related to Shenzhou-12 at Wikimedia Commons