China successfully launches three astronauts to its new space station

According to details, the astronauts identified as Liu Boming, Nie Haisheng and Tang Hongbo are scheduled to spend more than 90 days aboard the Tianhe module some 380km (236 miles) above the Earth.

It is for the first time in five years that China is sending a mission into space. It will also be China's longest crewed space mission to date.

On Thursday, their Shenzhou-12 capsule successfully took off atop its Long March 2F rocket.

The mission is another demonstration of China's growing confidence and capability in the space domain.

In the past six months, China sent one of its missions to moon which successfully brought back soil samples to Earth from the surface of the Moon. It also landed a six-wheeled robot on Mars.

Commander Nie Haisheng who is leading the Shenzhou-12 mission said that he has lot of expectations from this trip.

"We need to set up our new home in space and test a series of new technologies. So, the mission is tough and challenging. I believe with the three of us working closely together, doing thorough and accurate operations, we can overcome our challenges. We have the confidence to complete the mission,” he said ahead of mission.