China will launch the Shenzhou 23 spacecraft on the evening of May 24, marking a new step forward in Beijing's ambition to conquer space when an astronaut is expected to stay at Tiangong Space Station for 1 year.
This will be China's longest-duration mission in space, serving human physiology research in prolonged microgravity conditions and preparing for the goal of sending humans to the Moon before 2030.
According to the Chinese manned space agency, the Shenzhou 23 will be launched at 11:08 pm by the Chang Zheng 2F Y23 rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. 3 astronauts participating in the mission include commander Zhu Yangzhu, pilot Zhang Yuanzhi and load expert Li Jia.
Ms. Li Jiaying, a former Hong Kong (China) police inspector, will become the first special zone astronaut to participate in a Chinese space mission. The remaining 2 members belong to the astronaut force of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
One of the 3 astronauts will stay at Tiangong Station for one year, although the identity of the long-term mission performer has not been announced. The Chinese manned space agency said the final decision will depend on the progress of the mission.
If completed, this will be one of the longest space flights ever performed, although still shorter than the 14-and-a-half-month record set by a Russian astronaut in 1995.
With less than 4 years to complete the goal of sending people to the Moon, China is having to develop a series of completely new technologies specifically for this mission. Beijing needs to prove the safety and operational capacity of hardware and software systems before sending astronauts to carry out a journey much more dangerous than operating on low orbit around Earth.
From 2021 to now, Shenzhou missions have continuously sent groups of 3 astronauts to Tiangong Station with a stay of about 6 months. The Chinese space agency is currently training 2 Pakistani astronauts, one of whom can participate in a short-term mission to Tiangong this year.
The most recent mission, Shenzhou-22, was launched earlier than planned in November to bring 3 astronauts back to Earth after the Shenzhou 20 ship was damaged by space debris in orbit.
China has only recently deployed robots to the Moon, but the Shenzhou mission series shows that the country's space capabilities are improving rapidly. In June 2024, China became the first country to successfully recover specimens from the distant Moon using robots.
