In new film celebrating the lunar new year in orbit, China's Tiangong space station is decked up in festive crimson, kicking off the Year of the Tiger.

According to the China National Space Administration, the Shenzhou 13 astronauts are the first to spend the holiday in space, and they were given adequate resources to do so. In a recent update, state source CCTV stated, "They have adorned the space station core module with traditional Chinese paper-cuts, spring festival couplets... and red lanterns."

In footage from CCTV that the media source translated into English, commander Zhai Zhigang says, "I wish you all a Happy New Year, good health, good luck and an auspicious Year of the Tiger." Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu join Zhigang in the station's Tianhe core module for the festivities.

The Chinese New Year falls on the new moon between January 21 and February 20, putting the holiday on Tuesday this year (Feb. 1). It is one of the country's most important holidays, and it is frequently celebrated with fireworks or firecrackers (on Earth).

Shenzhou 13 took off on a Long March 2F rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert on Oct. 15. Wang has already set a Chinese record by being the first woman to dwell aboard the core module as part of the mission.

The taikonauts plan to stay in orbit for almost six months, more than double the time spent by Shenzhou 12, the only other all-male expedition to visit Tianhe thus far.

So far, the team has completed a spacewalk in November 2021 to continue station construction, livestreamed a scientific lecture for Chinese students in December, and manually flown a cargo ship in January to test emergency procedures and docking.

However, increased Chinese space activity and cybersecurity concerns have alarmed both the Biden administration and senior NASA officials, who believe China is pursuing space superiority in its crewed launches as well as recent trips to the moon and Mars.

NASA is prohibited from using federal funds for direct, bilateral cooperation with the Chinese government under the Wolf Amendment, which was passed by Congress in 2011. As a result, China is not a collaborator with NASA on robotic missions and is not a partner on the International Space Station project.