President Xi Jinping on Wednesday spoke to the three astronauts stationed in China’s space station and told them that the project is an important “milestone” in the country’s ambitious space exploration programme.

China successfully launched its longest crewed space mission to date on June 17, sending three astronauts to its new orbiting station, in a major milestone for the Communist giant’s space exploration plans and establishing it as a leading space power. Xi, also the General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party and the head of the People’s Liberation Army, spoke to astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo from the Beijing Aerospace Control Centre.