Astronauts on board the Shenzhou-15 and 16 made experiments

Chinese astronauts on board the Shenzhou-15 and Shenzhou-16 manned spaceships set multiple precedents in space scientific experiments during their stay in space in the first half of this year. China launched Shenzhou-15 on Nov 29, 2022.

The crew lived and worked in the space station complex for 186 days and conducted a number of experiments with fruitful results. In March, with cooperation of scientific researchers on ground, the Shenzhou-15 crew successfully performed the first in-orbit ignition test in the Mengtian space lab module' combustion cabinet.

The experiment used methane as fuel and the two ignitions lasted about 30 seconds in total. Likewise, the manned spaceship Shenzhou-16 was launched on May 30, 2023. In June, the Shenzhou-16 crew aboard China's space station Tiangong performed a radiation biological exposure experiment outside the Mengtian lab module for the first time.