Today's Edition
JIUQUAN (AFP)
China will send a new team of astronauts to its space station on Thursday, as the country marches towards its ambition of becoming a space power to rival the dominance of the United States.
Beijing has pumped billions of dollars into its space programme in recent years in an effort to achieve what President Xi Jinping describes as the Chinese people's "space dream."
The world's second-largest economy has bold plans to send a crewed mission to the Moon by the end of the decade and eventually build a base on the lunar surface.
It will mark its latest milestone on Thursday, when the Shenzhou-20 mission will ferry a team of three astronauts to the country's self-built Tiangong space station.
The all-male trio will blast off at 5:17 pm (0917 GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the country's remote northwestern desert, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
Leading the mission is Chen Dong, 46, a former fighter pilot and veteran space explorer who in 2022 became the first Chinese astronaut to clock up more than 200 cumulative days in orbit.
The other two crew members -- 40-year-old former air force pilot, Chen Zhongrui, and 35-year-old former space technology engineer, Wang Jie -- will be embarking on their first space flight.
"Today, I am on the point of realising my dream of flying in space," Zhongrui told a news conference on Wednesday, arranged to introduce the astronauts to the public.
The crew will work on Tiangong for six months, carrying out experiments in physics and life sciences and installing protective equipment against space debris.
For the first time, they will also bring aboard planarians -- aquatic flatworms known for their regenerative abilities.
The team will also conduct spacewalks, replenish supplies, and carry out general maintenance on the structure.
Three astronauts currently aboard Tiangong are scheduled to return to Earth on April 29 after completing handover procedures.
