神舟十八号
China has previously conducted similar experiments on Shenzhou-18 and Shenzhou-20 to study the effects of radiation on small biological organisms and their offspring.
Shenzhou-20 crew's mission surpasses the duration of Shenzhou-18.
Major Chinese space missions in 2024 include the Shenzhou-18 and Shenzhou-19 crewed missions and the Chang’e-6 lunar far side sample return mission.
Shenzhou-19 mission commander Cai Xuzhe and crewmates Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze docked with Tiangong and opened the hatch to join Shenzhou-18 astronauts early 2024-10-30.
The Shenzhou-17 crew welcomed the incoming Shenzhou-18 crew aboard Tiangong on 2024-04-25.
Shenzhou-18 launched on a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 8:59 a.m. Eastern (1259 UTC).
Shenzhou-18 completed rendezvous and docking with Tiangong’s radial docking port at 3:32 p.m. Eastern (1932 UTC) on 2024-04-25.
Shenzhou-18 is scheduled to launch at 8:59 a.m. Beijing time (12:59 UTC) on 2024-04-25 and reach the Tiangong space station about 6.5 hours later.
CASC plans to launch the Shenzhou-18 human spaceflight mission to the Tiangong space station from Jiuquan on 2024-04-25.
The Shenzhou-18 crewed mission to the Tiangong space station was scheduled for early 2024-04-25.
Shenzhou-18 is scheduled to launch in the first half of 2024 to replace Shenzhou-17, and Shenzhou-19 is scheduled for late 2024 as a six-month crewed mission to follow Shenzhou-18.
China plans three further missions to Tiangong in 2024: the Shenzhou-18 and Shenzhou-19 crewed missions and the Tianzhou-8 cargo mission.