Shenzhou XI astronauts enter Tiangong II space lab

Two astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong aboard the Shenzhou XI spacecraft enter the space lab Tiangong II at 6:32 Wednesday morning Beijing Time.[Photo from Sina Weibo account of CCTV]

BEIJING- The two astronauts aboard the Shenzhou XI spacecraft entered the space lab Tiangong-2 at 6:32 Wednesday morning Beijing Time, according to Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC).

Commander of the mission Jing Haipeng opened the hatch of Tiangong-2 and floated into the space lab, followed later by Chen Dong.

The two astronauts extended greetings to all the people of the nation in the space lab, and checked the status of the space complex formed by Shenzhou-XI and Tiangong-2.

Before entering the space lab, the two astronauts entered Shenzhou XI's orbital compartment and removed their intravehicular mobility unit spacesuits to change into blue jumpsuits.

They will live in the space lab for 30 days before returning to Earth.

ShenzhouXI was launched on Monday morning from northwest China's Gobi Desert.

It approached Tiangong-2 and automatically docked with the space lab at 3:31 am Wednesday.