China's spacecraft crew steps into space station

The mission is expected to become the longest crewed spaceflight by China, doubling the time spent in the Shenzhou XII mission. It will also see the first spacewalk by a Chinese woman.

Mother of a 5-year-old girl, Wang is China's second female astronaut to take part in a spaceflight. She took part in the Shenzhou X mission in June 2013. In the Shenzhou XIII flight, she will become the first Chinese woman to enter a space station and also the first Chinese woman to carry out a spacewalk.

One of China's most challenging and sophisticated space endeavors, Tiangong will eventually consist of three main components－the Tianhe core module attached to two large space labs－with a combined weight of nearly 70 metric tons. The entire station is set to operate for about 15 years in a low-Earth orbit about 400 kilometers above the planet.