China sends first civilian on crewed mission to space station

China has sent its first civilian into orbit as it prepares to launch a manned mission to the Moon by 2030 in what President Xi Jinping has described as the country’s “eternal dream” of becoming a space power.

Gui Haichao, an aerospace engineering professor who studied in Canada, was one of a crew of three “taikonauts,” as China’s astronauts are known, that blasted off from northwest China’s Gobi Desert on Tuesday. did, bound for the nation’s space station.

Shenzhou-16 spacecraft launch, ChinaThe U.S.’s 11th crewed space mission was preceded by a choreographed “departure ceremony” that featured a band and well-wishers waving Chinese flags. Government media gave extensive coverage of the launch.

China has made rapid progress in its space program as it competes with the US to gain an edge in advanced technology with civilian and military uses. The deputy director of China’s space agency on Monday confirmed plans to put a taikonaut on the Moon by 2030. In 2019, the country became the first to land on the far side of the Moon.

The following year, it completed the Beidou satellite constellation, a rival to the US Global Positioning System.

China will land a rover on Mars in 2021, where it plans to send a crewed mission by 2033 and launch the first part of its space station, which is designed to remain in orbit for at least a decade. China is the only country to have such a facility of its own since the US barred it from participating in the rival International Space Station in 2011 over concerns of national security and technology theft.

In a white paper published last year, China insisted that its space program was peaceful and that it would cooperate with other countries to “safeguard outer space security”.

But the US suspects China has military ambitions in space in addition to its civilian missions, particularly as Beijing is working closely with Russia on parts of the programme.

The China-Russia space partnership aims to “counter Western political and economic pressure, facilitate multipolarization and achieve common national security goals,” a release this month by the China Aerospace Studies Institute think-tank of the US Air Force’s Air University stated in a paper.

According to state media, the Shenzhou-16 crew is expected to conduct experiments in cutting-edge areas of science and physics, ranging from “verification of general relativity” to “the origin of life”.

China’s space station is a “huge laboratory”, said Quentin Parker, director of the laboratory’s space research at the University of Hong Kong. “The reason you have citizen scientists is because they have experience and knowledge.”

Parker said eventually the program will be commercialized.

“China’s ambitions have only just begun as far as the space station is concerned,” he said. “They’re talking about putting tourists on board about 10 years from now.”

Analysts said China has sought to use the space program as an instrument of soft power, galvanizing national pride at home and giving other countries an opportunity to participate.

But Beijing has struggled to generate more international support for its program in the form of US-backed initiatives such as the Artemis accord, a framework for cooperation in space signed in 2020 by eight countries including the US, Britain, Japan and Australia.

China has sent its first civilian into orbit as it prepares to launch a manned mission to the Moon by 2030 in what President Xi Jinping has described as the country’s “eternal dream” of becoming a space power.

Gui Haichao, an aerospace engineering professor who studied in Canada, was one of a crew of three “taikonauts,” as China’s astronauts are known, that blasted off from northwest China’s Gobi Desert on Tuesday. did, bound for the nation’s space station.

Shenzhou-16 spacecraft launch, ChinaThe U.S.’s 11th crewed space mission was preceded by a choreographed “departure ceremony” that featured a band and well-wishers waving Chinese flags. Government media gave extensive coverage of the launch.

China has made rapid progress in its space program as it competes with the US to gain an edge in advanced technology with civilian and military uses. The deputy director of China’s space agency on Monday confirmed plans to put a taikonaut on the Moon by 2030. In 2019, the country became the first to land on the far side of the Moon.

The following year, it completed the Beidou satellite constellation, a rival to the US Global Positioning System.

China will land a rover on Mars in 2021, where it plans to send a crewed mission by 2033 and launch the first part of its space station, which is designed to remain in orbit for at least a decade. China is the only country to have such a facility of its own since the US barred it from participating in the rival International Space Station in 2011 over concerns of national security and technology theft.

In a white paper published last year, China insisted that its space program was peaceful and that it would cooperate with other countries to “safeguard outer space security”.

But the US suspects China has military ambitions in space in addition to its civilian missions, particularly as Beijing is working closely with Russia on parts of the programme.

The China-Russia space partnership aims to “counter Western political and economic pressure, facilitate multipolarization and achieve common national security goals,” a release this month by the China Aerospace Studies Institute think-tank of the US Air Force’s Air University stated in a paper.

According to state media, the Shenzhou-16 crew is expected to conduct experiments in cutting-edge areas of science and physics, ranging from “verification of general relativity” to “the origin of life”.

China’s space station is a “huge laboratory”, said Quentin Parker, director of the laboratory’s space research at the University of Hong Kong. “The reason you have citizen scientists is because they have experience and knowledge.”

Parker said eventually the program will be commercialized.

“China’s ambitions have only just begun as far as the space station is concerned,” he said. “They’re talking about putting tourists on board about 10 years from now.”

Analysts said China has sought to use the space program as an instrument of soft power, galvanizing national pride at home and giving other countries an opportunity to participate.

But Beijing has struggled to generate more international support for its program in the form of US-backed initiatives such as the Artemis accord, a framework for cooperation in space signed in 2020 by eight countries including the US, Britain, Japan and Australia.