Li Jiaying, a Hong Kong astronaut, has launched into space aboard China's Shenzhou-23 spacecraft, marking a historic first for Hong Kong. The mission aims to conduct experiments at the Tiangong space station, with one crew member expected to spend a year in orbit.
Mentioned in this story
A Hong Kong astronaut has been launched into space for the first time, aboard China's Shenzhou-23 spacecraft.
Li Jiaying, a 43-year-old police officer and mother of three, serves as the payload scientist in the three-member crew who made their way to China's Tiangong space station on Sunday night.
At least one member of the crew will spend a full year in orbit as part of a key experiment. Authorities will determine who that will be at a later date.
The mission is the latest in China's ambitious space program to send humans to the moon by 2030. It comes amid an accelerating race with the US, which is looking to achieve a crewed lunar landing by 2028.
The Shenzhou-23 is tasked with studying the effects of microgravity on the human body, among many experiments.
Apart from Li, the two other astronauts on the mission are Zhu Yangzhu, a 39-year-old space engineer and Zhang Zhiyuan, a former air force pilot, 39-year-old former air force pilot.
Large crowds waved Chinese flags as the rocket launched from the north-west Gobi desert on the Long March 2-F rocket at 23:08 local (15:08 GMT) Sunday. A few hours later, it docked on the Tiangong space station.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said Li's inclusion in the mission was a "historic" moment.
Li said she was inspired by Yang Liwei, the first person sent to space by China's space programme.
"This is a rare chance. Why not try?" Li said, according to Xinhua news agency.
Since 2021, China has been sending astronauts to its Tiangong space station on six-month stays.
The year-long stay will be among the longest in history, just shy of the 14-month record set by a Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov in 1995.
"A year in orbit pushes both hardware and humans into a different operational regime compared with the shorter Shenzhou missions of the programme's earlier phases," Richard de Grijs, an astrophysicist and professor at Macquarie University in Australia, told AFP news agency.
This shows how China is building its expertise in long stays in space as well as deep space exploration, de Grijs said.
In 2024, China's Chang'e-6 craft recovered rock samples from the far side of the Moon for the first time and brought them back to Earth.
Later this year, China is set to mount an orbital test flight for its Mengzhou spacecraft, which is designed to carry astronauts to the moon.
Li Jiaying is a 43-year-old police officer from Hong Kong serving as the payload scientist in the Shenzhou-23 mission.
The Shenzhou-23 mission aims to study the effects of microgravity on the human body and conduct various experiments at China's Tiangong space station.
The Shenzhou-23 mission is part of China's ambitious space program, which aims to send humans to the moon by 2030, competing with the US's goal of a crewed lunar landing by 2028.
Arsenal won the Premier League title for the first time in 22 years, while Tottenham avoided relegation. Liverpool struggled after a £450m spend, and Sunderland achieved European football after promotion.
New York faces flash floods while Europe swelters under a heat dome.
Outrage grows after 82 die in China's worst coal mining disaster in 15 years.
Iranian opposition figures, including rapper Tony Mohraz, protest in London for the Pahlavi dynasty.
Thinktank urges job creation over benefit cuts to lower welfare costs
Trump says US not rushing Iran deal, affecting war negotiations
See every story in News — including breaking news and analysis.