China launches crewed space flight as part of Moon ambitions
China successfully launched its crewed Shenzhou-23 spacecraft, marking a significant step in its lunar ambitions. One astronaut will spend a year in orbit on the Tiangong space station, conducting various scientific experiments. This mission is part of China's goal to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030 and includes the first spaceflight by an astronaut from Hong Kong.
- ▪The Shenzhou-23 spacecraft docked with the Tiangong space station after a flight of about 3.5 hours.
- ▪One astronaut will spend a full year in orbit to study the effects of long-term microgravity.
- ▪China aims to land astronauts on the Moon before 2030, competing with the U.S. Artemis program.
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China's cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-6 approaches the combination of the space station Tiangong before docking in this screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center May 11, 2023. Xinhua-YonhapBEIJING - China launched its crewed Shenzhou-23 spacecraft and eased it into a successful docking with a space station early Monday as part of Beijing's ambitions to send humans to the Moon by 2030, state media said.During this mission, a Chinese astronaut is scheduled to spend a full year in orbit on the Tiangong space station, a crucial first in the Chinese lunar landing program.The Long March 2-F rocket blasted off in a cloud of flames and smoke on time at 11:08 pm (1508 GMT) Sunday night from the Jiuquan launch centre in China's northwestern Gobi Desert, video from state broadcaster CCTV…
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