Shenzhou 13 Mission: Chinese Astronaut Wang Yaping Shares Stunning Photos of Earth From Tiangong Space Station

China has released a series of high-resolution images depicting Earth from their space station. Wang Yaping, the first female taikonaut to operate in China's Tiangong space station and the first Chinese woman to do a spacewalk, took magnificent photographs.

Wang Yaping, along with her colleagues Zhai Zhigang and Ye Guangfu, went to the Tianhe core module onboard the Shenzhou 13 mission in October.

China Shares Earth's Beauty From International Space Station

Wang's November 18 photos obtained by CGTN show Qinghai Lake at the bottom of the photograph, heading east towards the East China Sea. The UNESCO World Heritage Centre describes Qinghai Lake as an inland saline wetland of worldwide significance.

Commander Zhai Zhigang and Ye Guangfu, Wang's coworkers, snapped her photographs in the Tianhe module. At the same time, she drifted in microgravity and held apples.

In a photograph posted by the official space outreach channel Our Space, the difference between the Tiangong 1 and Tianhe, launched eight years apart, is visible.

Series of Shenzhou Mission Explained

According to Space.com, Wang Yaping was a Shenzhou 10 mission to the Tiangong 1 space lab in 2013. Wang gave a live lesson on space physics to a class of youngsters back on Earth throughout the two-week expedition. Millions of Chinese schoolchildren followed the live transmission.

During the six-month-long Shenzhou 13 mission, the astronaut, who became the first Chinese woman to do an extravehicular activity, or spacewalk, is slated to perform a similar task.

On October 15, Zhai, Wang, and Ye began their mission, and on November 7, they completed their first spacewalk. Next year, the crew's responsibilities include testing and prepping the Tianhe module for future modules, doing experiments, and conducting science outreach.

The mission comes after the Shenzhou 12 mission, which launched in June and sent the first three astronauts to Tianhe for a three-month mission.

Using cellphones that they took to orbit, Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo also returned a series of breathtaking photographs of Earth.

China Shares Shenzhou 14 Details

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Shenzhou 14 and a Long March 2F rocket stand near-ready in the Gobi Desert in case of an emergency on Tianhe.

Shenzhou 14's assembly and testing have been finished at the base. Jia Shijin, the principal designer of the China Academy of Space Technology's crewed spacecraft system, told CCTV, the spacecraft is currently on standby, ready for a quick launch and emergency rescue mission,"

The Long March 2F launcher's creator, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), informed Chinese news site Global Times that in the event of an emergency, all participants necessary for an emergency launch should be there within 48 hours and able to launch within nine days.

If there are no crises, Shenzhou 14 will launch with its crew after Shenzhou 13 returns to Earth in March 2022. The Shenzhou 14 mission will be in charge of the delivery of two new Tianhe space station modules.

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