China has launched a three-person crew for a six-month mission aboard its space station.
The trio will set a new record for the length of time spent in space by Chinese astronauts as the country moves towards complete the orbiting structure.
The Shenzhou-13 spaceship carrying the three astronauts was launched by a Long March-2F rocket at 12.25am local time.
Those crew members conducted two spacewalks and deployed a 33ft mechanical arm before returning from their 90-day stay in mid-September.
The new crew includes two veterans of space travel – pilot Zhai Zhigang, 55, and Wang Yaping, 41, the only woman on the mission – and Ye Guangfu, 41, who is making his first trip to space.
