The three astronauts of Shenzhou XIV mission, who played a key role in completing the Tiangong space station, shared their experience and feelings with the public on Friday in their first news conference after their six-month orbital journey.

Speaking at the meeting with domestic reporters at the Astronaut Center of China in Beijing, mission commander Senior Colonel Chen Dong said that every day during their mission was full of work because they were tasked with preparing for and monitoring the arrival of the Wentian and Mengtian lab modules, conducting three spacewalks, and providing a science lecture for students.

Chen recalled the moment he and his teammates — Senior Colonel Liu Yang and Senior Colonel Cai Xuzhe — met their fellow astronauts in the Shenzhou XV flight inside the Tiangong station.

"We had paid a lot of attention to news about the Shenzhou XV mission and the crew several days before they set out. When their spacecraft actually launched, we were watching the live broadcast and we were so happy that we kept clapping our hands for a long time."

"In the hours before their spacecraft arrived at the station, we were supposed to sleep but none of us really went to bed because we were too excited to go to sleep. The moment I was about to open the hatch after their spacecraft connected with the space station, I saw them through the window and I waved my hand to welcome them to this home of ours and now theirs," he said.

After the new crew — Major General Fei Junlong, the mission commander, as well as Senior Colonel Deng Qingming and Senior Colonel Zhang Lu — floated into the station, the two crews hugged and then took a group selfie to the applause from ground controllers.

It was the first time that six Chinese citizens were in a space station at the same time and the first in-orbit gathering of two Chinese crews.

"We had our thumbs up in the selfie to celebrate the first in-orbit gathering, to show our appreciation of our space home and also to pay respect to our great motherland," Chen said.

Liu, the first Chinese woman in space, said the Shenzhou XIV was her second spaceflight and she made a paper "lucky star" each day of the mission.

She said she often stared at China when the station flew over the country.

"I know that there are numerous females in our nation working hard to pursue their dreams with courage and determination," the female astronaut said. "I wish that each of us could realize our aspirations and become a light to bring warmth to others."

Cai, for whom this was his first spaceflight, recalled that eating the vegetables they grew in the space station brought a lot of happiness to the crew though taking care of the plants was never easy.

Chen's crew was the third group to go to the Chinese station, one of the largest pieces of infrastructure ever deployed in Earth's orbit. The three were launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert on June 5 and arrived at Tiangong later that day.