China will launch this week a new manned space mission, continuing to send astronauts to the moon over the next five years.
The Shenzhou-20 Mission will take off from the Jiuquan launch center in the northwest of the country, carrying three astronauts. The destination of the team is Tiangong space station, where it will remain for about six months.
The mission aims to contribute to China’s ambitious goal of placing astronauts on the moon until 2030, followed by building a lunar base.
The Shenzhou spacecraft and the long march-2F launcher rocket have already been transferred to the takeoff site and will be launched “in due time, in the near future,” said Chinese space agency last week.
Photographs published by Chinese official news agency Xinhua show the long white rocket based on a blue pedestal decorated with Chinese flags, surrounded by red and golden bands that greet the national space program.
“Currently, the facilities and equipment of the launch site are in good condition. Functional inspections and joint tests will be performed as planned,” said China’s Craft Flights Agency (CMSA).
Authorities have not yet revealed the identity of the Shenzhou-20 mission astronauts, nor the exact tasks they will perform.
The crew is “in good condition, accurate in its maneuvers and well coordinated,” said Zhou Wenxing, a member of the country’s astronauts training center, quoted by state television CCTV.
China’s previous manned mission, Shenzhou-19, was launched last October and is expected to be completed on April 29.
It is led by Cai Xuzhe, a former 48-year-old hunting pilot who has already flew aboard the Tiangong space station during the Shenzhou-14 mission in 2022.
The crew also includes Wang Haoze, 35, the country’s only space -flight engineer and the third Chinese woman to participate in a manned space mission.
Song Lingdong, a 34 -year -old man, completes the trio.
The Shenzhou-19 team has conducted experiments to observe how extreme radiation, gravity, temperature and other conditions affect the “bricks” made of materials that mimic lunar soil, according to press release at the time of launch.
Tiangong station, whose central module Tianhe was launched in 2021, should be used for about ten years.
Load ship
In Shanghai, the population will have a chance to see a full model of China’s next -generation charge ship, Qingzhou, designed for future orbit supply delivery. It will be during space day celebrations, celebrated on April 24.
Qingzhou, which means “light ship” in Chinese, is designed to be smaller in size and lighter compared to the existing Tianzhou load ship.
Developed by the Academy of Innovation for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the new launch vehicle weighs about 5 tons and is able to send at least 1.8 ton of space supplies. It has an internal volume of 27 cubic meters and can accommodate up to 300 liters to transport the cold chain, allowing taikonauts to have more fruits and fresh vegetables during space travel.
According to Shu Rong, Commander of the Qingzhou project, Spatialave was developed at a lower cost, thanks to numerous technological innovations and a more efficient release process.
In addition to delivering supplies to China’s space station, Qingzhou will also provide commercial cargo services in the future, with the aim of bringing economic and social benefits, said Shu.
China designated April 24 as space day to mark the successful launch of its first satellite on April 24, 1970.
*With information from the Lusa and Xinhua agencies
*Reproduction of this content is prohibited.
