Three astronauts of the Shenzhou-12 spaceflight mission will be awarded medals for their service to China's space endeavors, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the State Council, and the Central Military Commission jointly announced on Tuesday.
Nie Haisheng, commander of the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft, will be honored with a first-class aerospace achievement medal. Liu Boming will be awarded a second-class aerospace achievement medal, and Yang Hongbo will be conferred with a third-class medal and the honorary title of Heroic Astronaut.
The three taikonauts were sent into space and entered Tianhe on June 17. The crew carried out extravehicular activities twice a day over the past 90 days, a new record for the longest space stay in a single flight for Chinese astronauts.
The first crew sent into orbit for space station construction, the trio completed their three-month mission and returned to Earth safely on September 17.
