China successfully launched a three-member crew to its orbiting space station on Thursday as part of its ambitious program to land astronauts on the moon by 2030.
The Shenzhou-18 spacecraft blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China at 8:59 p.m. (1259 GMT) atop a Long March 2-F rocket.
This new crew will replace the Shenzhou-17 team currently aboard China’s Tiangong space station since last October.
Prior to the launch, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) organized a send-off ceremony for the Shenzhou-18 crew, featuring flag-waving children and patriotic music.
The crew includes Commander Ye Guangfu, a seasoned astronaut, along with rookie spaceflight pilots Li Cong and Li Guangsu, who will reach the space station approximately six-and-a-half hours after liftoff.
China developed its own space station after being excluded from the International Space Station due to U.S. concerns about military involvement. This year, China plans two cargo spacecraft missions and two manned spaceflight missions to its station.
The Shenzhou-18 crew will stay on the space station for about six months, conducting scientific tests, installing space debris protection equipment, performing payload experiments, and promoting science education.
China aims to eventually welcome foreign astronauts and space tourists to its space station, as announced by Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the CMSA, during a press conference.
The country also has missions planned to retrieve samples from Mars by 2030 and conduct three lunar probe missions in the next four years, with a goal of landing astronauts on the moon by 2030.
While the U.S. space program holds an advantage in funding, supply chains, and capabilities, China has made significant strides in space exploration, such as bringing back lunar samples and landing a rover on the far side of the moon.
The U.S. aims to return a crew to the moon by 2025, with support from private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin.