Three astronauts will be on a roughly six-month mission to carry out experiments and install protective equipment against space debris. China strives to become a leading celestial power.
China on Thursday sent three astronauts to its permanent space station Tiangong to replace the crew stationed there since last October.
The Shenzhou-20 spaceship took off at 5:17 p.m. local time (0917 GMT) from Gobi Desert in northwestern China, according to state media.
The crew currently aboard Tiangong is scheduled to return on April 29th. The teams rotate roughly every six months.
China is striving to become a leading celestial power, aiming to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030, build a base there and explore Mars.
In order to achieve what President Xi Jinping describes as the Chinese people’s “space dream”, Beijing has invested billions of dollars into its space program in recent years.
Crew to hold experiments in physics and medicine
Leading the crew is Chen Dong, who has already completed two missions before and is flying to space for a third time now. He will be accompanied by former air force pilot Chen Zhongrui and engineer Wang Jie, both first timers in space.
Besides space walks and general maintenance on the space station, the crew wants to install protective equipment against space debris, an increasing threat for space activities.
Also, experiments in both physics and medical sciences are planned. For the first time, they will bring planarians aboard, a kind of aquatic flatworms with great regenerative abilities.
“The results [of examining the planarians in space] could help address problems related to injuries sustained in space environments,” said Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of China’s national space agency (CMSA) at a press conference on Wednesday.
China seeks space partners
China has been excluded from the International Space Station, as the US banned their space agency NASA from collaborating with Beijing, citing national security concerns.
China has increasingly sought space partners elsewhere.
In February, Beijing signed with Islamabad an agreement to send the first foreign astronaut to Tiangong. On Wednesday, China’s national space agency said that “two Pakistani astronauts will be selected to come to China for training.”
