It carried three People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC) taikonauts on board a Shenzhou spacecraft.

Tasks included a repair test of the Tianhe core module's solar panels, which have sustained minor damage caused by impacts of space debris and micrometeoroids.

[7] On 2 March 2024, the second scheduled spacewalk of Shenzhou 17 was carried out by Tang Hongbo and Jiang Xinlin through the airlock of the Wentian lab module.

Tasks included maintenance of the solar panels of the Tianhe core module, evaluation and analysis of the performance status of the solar panel power generation and also inspection of the status of the space station modules.

[8] Commander Tang Hongbo is the first person to visit the station twice, having previously flown to Tiangong on Shenzhou 12.