“SPACE DREAM”
Beijing’s space programme is the third to put humans in orbit, after the United States and the former Soviet Union.
China has ramped up plans to achieve its “space dream” under President Xi Jinping, successfully landing its Chang’e-4 probe on the far side of the Moon in 2019, the first spacecraft to do so.
It then landed a small robot on Mars in 2021.
On Thursday, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) outlined a series of “crucial upcoming tests” it was undertaking in preparation for its 2030 Moon goal.
In addition to advancing scientific research, the Shenzhou-21 crew is expected to go on spacewalks and install anti-debris shields on Tiangong’s exterior.
The astronauts are also expected to conduct “popular science education”, the CMSA said, as Beijing searches for future space talent both domestically and internationally.
China has been excluded from the International Space Station since 2011, when the United States banned NASA from collaborating with Beijing.
It has since sought to bring other countries into its space programme and signed a deal with longtime ally Pakistan in February to recruit the first foreign “taikonauts”.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/china-launches-shenzhou-21-mission-tiangong-space-station-5438716
