China Successfully Launches Shenzhou 23 Featuring A Year-long Space Mission

On Sunday, China launched the Shenzhou 23 spacecraft from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China. The mission, deemed “a complete success” by center official Li Benqi, aims to carry three astronauts to the Tiangong space station, with one expected to stay for a year. This duration may rank among the world’s longest single stays in space.

The astronauts on the mission include Zhu Yangzhu, the commander, alongside Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying. Lai, born in Hong Kong and holding a doctoral degree in computer forensics, is Hong Kong’s first astronaut and the fourth Chinese female astronaut to venture into space.

The Shenzhou 23 crew will conduct various science and application projects during their time in orbit. They are also set to perform an in-orbit rotation with the Shenzhou 21 crew, who have been aboard the Tiangong space station for over 200 days. The Shenzhou 21 team launched in October last year, including China’s youngest astronaut, and notably carried four mice, marking the first live mammals in China’s space missions.

The mission’s focus on long-duration spaceflight aligns with China’s growing space ambitions. As China was previously excluded from the International Space Station, largely due to U.S. security concerns, it continues to advance its Tiangong space program. The U.S., considered China’s main space rival, plans its own lunar mission with NASA targeting 2028 for a crew landing.

China’s Tiangong, meaning “Heavenly Palace,” hosted its first crew in 2021. Last year, an emergency maneuver in the Shenzhou program rescued astronauts stranded because of a damaged spacecraft. The previous Shenzhou mission faced a nine-day delay due to damage to the spacecraft’s window, which prevented their return to Earth. Safety assessments judged the Shenzhou 20 unfit for astronaut transport.