The three astronauts aboard China's Shenzhou-23 spaceship - including the Hong Kong SAR's first astronaut Lai Ka-ying - have entered the Tiangong space station and met with another astronaut trio on Monday, starting a new round of in-orbit crew handover.

The Shenzhou-21 crew aboard Tiangong opened the hatch at 5.13am (Beijing Time) and welcomed the new arrivals, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The two crews then took group pictures for the eighth space get-together in China's aerospace history.

They will conduct handover work aboard the space station, the CMSA said. (Additional reporting by Xinhua)



Edited by Robert Kemp