The latest Shenzhou-18 mission to the space station was led by Ye Guangfu, 43, who joined the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in August 1998.
The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) has launched three astronauts to the Tiangong space station.
China has long had its sights set on establishing its own space station in low-Earth orbit. The country, which is not an International Space Station partner, has spent the last few decades making preparations, even launching two precursor space labs: Tiangong-1 in 2011 and Tiangong-2 in 2016. Both stations provided critical information for the future Tiangong station before reentering Earth’s atmosphere.
The station’s first cargo mission was Tianzhou-2, which launched on May 29, 2021. The first crewed mission to Tiangong was Shenzhou-12, which launched on June 17, 2021 carrying three astronauts. The crew spent three months testing equipment on Tianhe and preparing it for future astronauts, before successfully returning to Earth on September 17.
The country’s 13th crewed mission to space, marking more than two decades of Chinese human spaceflight. Of the 13 crewed missions, half were visits to China’s independently built space station Tiangong, or “Celestial Palace” in Chinese.
The latest Shenzhou-18 mission to the space station was led by Ye Guangfu, 43.
Ye was accompanied to the Chinese flying laboratory by Li Cong and Li Guangsu, both of whom are part of the third-batch taikonauts (Chinese astronauts), and the Shenzhou-18 mission will be their first flight mission.
China launched its first uncrewed spacecraft, Shenzhou-1, in November 1999. Three more unmanned flights followed before Yang Liwei became the first Chinese national to be sent into space on Shenzhou-5.
The upcoming mission involving the Shenzhou-18 crew and Tianzhou-8 cargo ship marks another significant step in China’s space exploration endeavours. Scheduled to rendezvous with the Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship, this mission is pivotal for advancing scientific research and operational capabilities aboard the space station.
Led by Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), the Shenzhou-18 crew will undertake a myriad of tasks encompassing space science experiments, extravehicular activities (EVAs), cargo transportation, and space debris mitigation.
Notably, they will conduct multiple spacewalks to install protective reinforcements for vital equipment and deliver crucial cargo through the station’s airlock module.
With over 90 experiments planned in diverse fields like physics, material science, and life sciences, the crew aims to further our understanding of microgravity phenomena and enhance technological innovations.
The mission will also pioneer China’s first in-orbit aquatic ecological research program, focusing on establishing a self-sustainable aquatic ecosystem using zebrafish and goldfish algae.
This groundbreaking initiative aims to breed vertebrates in space, pushing the boundaries of scientific understanding and paving the way for future space habitats.
Moreover, the crew will conduct the world’s first in-orbit study on plant tip stem cells, delving into the mechanisms of plant evolutionary adaptation to gravity. This research holds immense significance for advancing our understanding of plant biology and cultivation techniques in space, laying the groundwork for sustainable space agriculture and long-duration space missions.