With the arrival of three astronauts from the Shenzhou16 mission on the Chinese space station, there have never been so many humans in orbit since the beginning of the space age. There are in fact 17 human beings aboard two vehicles in Earth orbit.
The six taikonauts, the Chinese astronauts aboard the ‘Celestial Palace’, as the Chinese space station Tiangon is called, are joined by the 11 astronauts and cosmonauts on a mission on the International Space Station.
Overall, five nationalities are represented: with the six Chinese, five Americans, three Russians, two Saudis and one Emirati are currently in the space. It is a record that will stand even when the four of the private Ax-2 mission leave the ISS this afternoon. In fact, seven will remain on board and with the six of the Tiangong there will be 13.
Source: Ansa
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