China Launches Astronauts for Year-Long Space Mission

China launched the Shenzhou-23 mission on Sunday, carrying three astronauts to the Tiangong space station, with one crew member set to spend a full year in orbit - a record duration for the country and a crucial milestone in Beijing's push to land astronauts on the moon by 2030. The Long March 2-F rocket lifted off at 11:08 p.m. local time from the Jiuquan launch center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert. The crew includes former Hong Kong police inspector Li Jiaying, also known as Lai Ka-ying, who became the first astronaut from Hong Kong to participate in a Chinese space mission, along with Commander Zhu Yangzhu and Pilot Zhang Zhiyuan. The astronaut who will remain aboard Tiangong for the entire year will be determined later based on mission progress. The year-long experiment aims to study the effects of extended microgravity on the human body, including bone density loss, muscle wasting, radiation exposure, sleep disturbances, and psychological stress. According to scientists, such data is essential for China's preparations for future lunar missions and potential voyages to Mars. The crew will also conduct numerous scientific projects in life sciences, materials science, fluid physics, and medicine. Additionally, China is conducting what it claims is the world's first human "artificial embryo" experiment in space, sending human stem cell samples to the station to study long-term human residence and reproduction in space conditions. The Shenzhou-23 mission is part of an accelerating race to the moon with the United States, which aims to achieve a crewed lunar landing in 2028 through its Artemis program, two years ahead of China's target. China has been excluded from the International Space Station since 2011 when the United States banned NASA from collaborating with Beijing, prompting China to develop its own space infrastructure. The country has significantly expanded its space programs over the past three decades, landing a rover on Mars in 2021 and becoming the first nation to recover lunar samples from the moon's far side in 2024. Beijing plans to test its new Mengzhou spacecraft in 2026, which will replace the Shenzhou line for lunar missions, and hopes to establish a permanent lunar base, the International Lunar Research Station, by 2035 with Russia. China is also training two Pakistani astronauts, with one potentially joining a Tiangong mission by the end of this year.