JIUQUAN SATELLITE LAUNCH CENTER, China (AP) — China’s space agency is making final preparations to send the Shenzhou-18 crew into low-Earth orbit on Thursday as part of its ambitious space program that aims to put people on the moon by 2030.
In a press conference on Wednesday, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) introduced the three astronauts: Commander Ye Guangfu, 43, a veteran astronaut who was part of the Shenzhou-13 mission in 2021; and astronauts Li Cong, 34, and Li Guangsu, 36, who will go to space for the first time.
The three-member crew’s spacecraft is set for lift-off at 8:59 p.m. (1259 GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in the country’s northwest. They will relieve the Shenzhou-17 team, who have manned China’s Tiangong space station since last October.
The crew will spend about six months on the space station. They will conduct scientific tests, install space debris protection equipment on the space station, carry out payload experiments, and popularize science education, among other things, according to Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the CMSA.
It really IS harder to say no to cake when you're fat, finds study of obese volunteers' brains
I get shamed by other mothers for being naturally pretty with a good figure
Masterful meals: Pea and white truffle soup with Parmesan galettes
Epiphanny Prince retires from basketball after a 14
Core blimey: Poached pears with blackberry drizzle and hazelnut shortbread
Dog severely burned and abandoned by owner in San Bernardino
Watch: Nicola Willis reveals economy has slipped further this year
Britain's Kensington Palace releases image of Prince Louis to mark his 6th birthday
What visitors on £100 Balmoral tours will see: Tourists can wander Drawing Room
A Russian priest who held Navalny's memorial service is suspended by Moscow church
Queen Camilla, Princess Anne and Sarah Ferguson all don traditional spring shade