Tang Hongbo previously completed a spacewalk during the Shenzhou-12 mission in July 2021, which was the first mission to visit the Tianhe core module.
Tianzhou-2 was deorbited on 2022-03-31 after supplying the Shenzhou-12 mission and being used in transposition tests.
Three Chinese astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo returned to Earth on 2021-09-17 after completing the Shenzhou-12 mission.
Shenzhou-12 mission objectives include extravehicular activities using EVA suits delivered by Tianzhou-2, testing the performance of a large robotic arm, and verification of a regenerative life support system.
Tianzhou-2 launched to Tianhe in 2021-05-31 carrying 4,690 kg of cargo in a pressurized segment to supply the Shenzhou-12 mission.
The Shenzhou-12 mission will include extravehicular activities using EVA suits delivered by Tianzhou-2.
The Shenzhou-12 mission will launch on a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan launch center in the Gobi Desert.
China planned a Long March 7 launch of the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft to join Tianhe in orbit within weeks of the Long March 5B reentry, with the crewed Shenzhou-12 mission likely to follow in June.
The Long March 2F for the Shenzhou-12 mission is undergoing testing in a final assembly facility in Beijing with work expected to be completed following the Chinese New Year (2021-02-12).
China is preparing a crewed Shenzhou-12 mission to make the first visit to the Tianhe core module of the Chinese space station following the launch of the 22-metric-ton Tianhe facility in the first half of 2021.
A Long March 2F rocket will launch the crewed Shenzhou-12 mission in 2021.