China has taken a new step towards its goal of sending a manned mission to the Moon before 2030 by sending three astronauts, including the first civilian scientist, to the tiangong space station.
The Shenzhou-16 mission was launched at 9:31 a.m. (1:31 a.m. GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Station in the northwest of the country aboard a Long March 2F rocket.
In accordance with emolafter more than six hours of flight, the ship successfully docked with the central module of the stationTianhe, state television CCTV announced.
Zou Lipeng, director of the Jiuquan center, confirmed the success of the launch and assured that the astronauts are in good condition. This mission marks an important milestone, as it is the first time China has sent a civilian scientist into space..
Gui Haichao, a teacher who goes to space
The mission commander is Jin Haipeng, who is participating in his fourth space mission, accompanied by engineer Zhu Yangzhu. Also, he joined the crew Gui Haichao, professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Beihang University, who will carry out scientific tests during the mission..
Until now, all Chinese astronauts had been members of the People’s Liberation Army, so the inclusion of a civilian scientist marks a significant advance in China’s space program.
During his stay at the Tiangong station, the scientist will carry out “large-scale experiments in orbit” with the aim of studying new quantum phenomena, high-precision time-frequency space systems, the verification of general relativity and the origin of lifeaccording to the spokesperson for the country’s Manned Space Flight Agency.
The Tiangong space station is considered the crown jewel of China’s space program, which seeks to catch up with the United States and Russia in the space race. In addition to its goal of sending humans to the moon, China has invested millions in its space program and has managed to send vehicles to Mars and the moon in previous missions.