The Shenzhou-14 astronauts successfully entered the Mengtian lab module of China's space station Tiangong at 3:12 p.m. (Beijing Time) on Thursday, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

Following up, the Shenzhou-14 crew in the space station will welcome the subsequent arrival of the Tianzhou-5 cargo craft and Shenzhou-15 crewed spaceship, the agency said.

The Shenzhou-14 and Shenzhou-15 crew members will then conduct the first in-orbit crew rotation in China's space history.

China launched the space lab module Mengtian on Oct. 31, taking the construction of the country's space station into the final stage.