science

Shenzhou 12

Shenzhou 12 is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Shenzhou 12 rather than just read about it. In short: Shenzhou 12 (Chinese: 神舟十二号; pinyin: Shénzhōu shí'èr hào; lit. 'Divine Boat Number 12') was a Chinese spaceflight to the Tiangong space station, launched on 17 June 2021. It carried three People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC) taikonauts on board a Shenzhou spacecraft.

Key takeaways

Shenzhou 12 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Shenzhou 12 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Shenzhou 12 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Shenzhou 12 (Chinese: 神舟十二号; pinyin: Shénzhōu shí'èr hào; lit. 'Divine Boat Number 12') was a Chinese spaceflight to the Tiangong space station, launched on 17 June 2021. It carried three People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC) taikonauts on board a Shenzhou spacecraft. The mission was the seventh crewed Chinese spaceflight and the twelfth flight overall of the Shenzhou program. It was the first flight to Tiangong, and the first Chinese crewed spaceflight since Shenzhou 11 in 2016.

Background Shenzhou 12 was originally planned as the second mission to visit the single-module Tiangong-2 space laboratory, following Shenzhou 11. In 2016, plans for a second mission to Tiangong-2 were cancelled, and Shenzhou 12 was instead designated as the first crewed mission to the larger modular Tiangong space station, whose first module, the Tianhe core module, was launched on 29 April 2021. The crew of Shenzhou 12 was announced on 16 June 2021.

Mission The flight launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on 17 June 2021 at 01:22 UTC, following the launch of the Tianzhou 2 cargo spacecraft. Just over 6.5 hours after launch, the spacecraft docked with the Tianhe core module's forward docking port. The crew entered the station later that same day at 10:48 UTC, becoming the first crew to visit Tiangong. During the mission, the Shenzhou 13 spacecraft remained on standby to serve as an emergency rescue vehicle. The Shenzhou 12 crew activated the station, carried out two spacewalks, and verified key technologies such as robotic arm operation, resource recycling, and long-term life support during the three-month mission.

Spacewalks On 4 July 2021, the first of two scheduled spacewalks was carried out by Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo. The taikonauts tested an updated version of the Feitian space suit, completed installation of the station's robotic arm, and installed exterior equipment for use on future missions, including a camera lifting bracket. This marked the second ever Chinese spacewalk, after Zhai Zhigang's spacewalk nearly 13 years prior on Shenzhou 7. The spacewalk lasted for 6 hours and 46 minutes. On 20 August 2021, Nie Haisheng and Liu Boming carried out the second scheduled spacewalk of the mission. The two tested spacecraft equipment, installed a backup thermal control pump, and installed and raised panoramic camera D on the Tianhe core module. The spacewalk lasted for 5 hours and 55 minutes.

Rendezvous test & return to Earth Shenzhou 12 undocked from Tiangong on 16 September 2021 at 00:56 UTC. Following undocking, the spacecraft performed a test of radial rendezvous procedures which would be utilized on the following mission, Shenzhou 13. After a successful test, Shenzhou 12 departed the station and returned to Earth on 17 September 2021, landing at the Dongfeng landing site in the Gobi Desert in Inner Mongolia at 05:34 UTC.

Crew

Nie Haisheng previously flew on Shenzhou 6 and Shenzhou 10. Liu Boming previously flew on Shenzhou 7.

The backup crew would fly to the Tiangong space station as the crew of Shenzhou 13 in October 2021.

References

External links Media related to Shenzhou-12 at Wikimedia Commons

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Shenzhou 12

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Shenzhou 12 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Shenzhou 12 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Shenzhou 12 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Shenzhou 12

In research: Shenzhou 12 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Shenzhou 12 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Shenzhou 12 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2021 in China, Crewed Shenzhou missions, Human spaceflights to the Tiangong space station, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Shenzhou 12 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Shenzhou 12 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Shenzhou 12 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Shenzhou 12 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Shenzhou 12 in simple terms?

Why does Shenzhou 12 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Shenzhou 12?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Shenzhou 12.