At a news conference on Sunday, one day ahead of the launch of the manned spacecraft Shenzhou XI, astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong appeared in the newly designed astronaut suits that feature different shades of navy blue.

"Before we designed the new suit line, Chinese astronauts only had one pair of blue overalls that they wore both in space and on Earth, which cannot ensure their comfort in various circumstances," said Li Jun, dean of the Fashion Art Design Institute of Donghua University in Shanghai, who was in charge of designing the suits.