China will ship its youngest-ever crew of astronauts to the Tiangong area station this week, as a part of Beijing’s formidable plans for a manned mission to the Moon by the tip of the last decade. Tiangon has already been credited with sending robotic rovers to Mars and the Moon and has made China the third nation to place people in orbit.
The Tiangong area station is repeatedly crewed by groups of three astronauts who’re rotated out each six months.The Shenzhou-17 module, carrying this newest trio to the station, is scheduled to blast off at 11:14 am (0314 GMT) on Thursday from the Jiuquan launch website in China’s arid northwest.
This mission has the youngest common age of astronauts because the launch of the area station’s development mission. The all-male trio might be led by Tang Hongbo, who’s on his first return mission to the Tiangong area station. Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin will accompany him, who’re each of their thirties and might be making their maiden area voyages. The crew has a median age of 38, in comparison with 42 for the crew of Shenzhou-16 throughout its launch.
Elaborating on the mission, Lin Xiqiang, spokesperson for China’s area program mentioned, “The Shenzhou-17 spacecraft will conduct autonomous rendezvous and docking procedures after getting into orbit and can dock with the station’s core module in roughly six-and-a-half hours.”
China beneath President Xi Jinping, has invested billions of {dollars} within the military-run area program to compete with america and Russia.
In June, the return capsule of the Shenzhou-15 spaceship had a profitable touchdown within the northern Inside Mongolia area. The launch of the Shenzhou-16 capsule in the identical month marked the primary time a Chinese language civilian, Beihang College professor Gui Haichao, journeyed into orbit. The crew is ready to return to earth on October 31 after finishing a handover.
The mission to Tiangong area station is in keeping with China’s intention to ship a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030 and set up a lunar base there.
(With inputs from AFP)
The Tiangong area station is repeatedly crewed by groups of three astronauts who’re rotated out each six months.The Shenzhou-17 module, carrying this newest trio to the station, is scheduled to blast off at 11:14 am (0314 GMT) on Thursday from the Jiuquan launch website in China’s arid northwest.
This mission has the youngest common age of astronauts because the launch of the area station’s development mission. The all-male trio might be led by Tang Hongbo, who’s on his first return mission to the Tiangong area station. Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin will accompany him, who’re each of their thirties and might be making their maiden area voyages. The crew has a median age of 38, in comparison with 42 for the crew of Shenzhou-16 throughout its launch.
Elaborating on the mission, Lin Xiqiang, spokesperson for China’s area program mentioned, “The Shenzhou-17 spacecraft will conduct autonomous rendezvous and docking procedures after getting into orbit and can dock with the station’s core module in roughly six-and-a-half hours.”
China beneath President Xi Jinping, has invested billions of {dollars} within the military-run area program to compete with america and Russia.
In June, the return capsule of the Shenzhou-15 spaceship had a profitable touchdown within the northern Inside Mongolia area. The launch of the Shenzhou-16 capsule in the identical month marked the primary time a Chinese language civilian, Beihang College professor Gui Haichao, journeyed into orbit. The crew is ready to return to earth on October 31 after finishing a handover.
The mission to Tiangong area station is in keeping with China’s intention to ship a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030 and set up a lunar base there.
(With inputs from AFP)
