China's six astronauts in two missions make historic gathering in space

This image captured at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China shows the Shenzhou-15 and Shenzhou-14 crew taking a group picture with their thumbs up after a historic gathering in space on Nov. 30, 2022. (Xinhua/Guo Zhongzheng)

BEIJING, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The three astronauts aboard China's Shenzhou-15 spaceship entered the country's space station and met with another astronaut trio on Wednesday, a historic gathering that added the manpower at the in-orbit space lab to six for the first time.

Chen Dong, the commander of the Shenzhou-14 crew, opened the hatch at 7:33 a.m. (Beijing Time). The three space station occupants greeted the new arrivals with warm hugs and then they took a group picture with their thumbs up, shouting in chorus -- "China's space station is always worth looking forward to."

The space reunion kicked off the first in-orbit crew rotation in China's space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The six astronauts are projected to live and work together for about five days to complete planned tasks and handover work, said the CMSA.

This image captured at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China shows the Shenzhou-14 astronauts Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe greeting the Shenzhou-15 crew at the Wentian lab on Nov. 30, 2022. (Xinhua/Guo Zhongzheng)

This image captured at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China shows the Shenzhou-14 astronauts Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe greeting the Shenzhou-15 crew at the Wentian lab on Nov. 30, 2022. (Xinhua/Guo Zhongzheng)

This image captured at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China shows the Shenzhou-15 and Shenzhou-14 crew waving after a historic gathering in space on Nov. 30, 2022. (Xinhua/Guo Zhongzheng)

This image captured at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China shows Chen Dong, the commander of the Shenzhou-14 crew, greeting the Shenzhou-15 crew at the airlock cabin of the space station's Tianhe module on Nov. 30, 2022. (Xinhua/Guo Zhongzheng)

This image captured at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China shows the Shenzhou-15 and Shenzhou-14 crew communicating after a historic gathering in space on Nov. 30, 2022. (Xinhua/Guo Zhongzheng)

This image captured at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China shows the Shenzhou-14 astronauts Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe greeting the Shenzhou-15 crew at the Wentian lab on Nov. 30, 2022. (Xinhua/Guo Zhongzheng)