A Chinese civilian has gone into space for the first time. Three Chinese astronauts including him went to the Tiangong space station on Tuesday aboard the Shenzhou-16 spacecraft. They will stay there for five months.
This mission is believed to have entered a new level in the development of China’s space program.
The spacecraft took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northern China’s Gobi Desert at 9:31 a.m. on Tuesday.
After 19 minutes, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced that the launch was successful. In less than seven hours, the three astronauts are scheduled to reach the Tianhe Core Module of the Tiangong Space Station, 400 kilometers above Earth.
Jing Heipeng, the commander of this mission, said that through this, China’s space mission has reached a new stage. This time Jing went to space for the fourth time. This is a record among Chinese astronauts.
Also, this is the first time a Chinese civilian astronaut has gone outside the Earth’s atmosphere. He is Professor Gui Heichao of Beihang University in Beijing. All other Chinese astronauts who went into space before him were members of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Zhu Yangzhu is another astronaut who went to space in this campaign. He is an engineer by profession. Zhu was the first to go into space.
According to a Prothom Alo report citing AFP, the Chinese President Xi Jinping is advancing his ‘dream space project’. The country is now looking to build a base on the moon. China Manned Space Agency spokesperson Lin Zhiqiang said on Monday that Beijing is advancing the plan to send people to the moon by 2030.
