The Shenzhou-20 to the Tiangong space station!
Beijing, Apr 24 (EFE).-
China has successfully launched a three-member crew aboard the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft to the Tiangong space station for a six-month orbital mission to conduct experiments on developing artificial brain models and preparing superconducting materials.
The Shenzhou-20 spacecraft lifted off atop a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert in northwestern China at 5.17pm local time (09.17 GMT) on Thursday, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said.
The crew is led by Chen Dong, a veteran of the Shenzhou-11 and Shenzhou-14 missions, accompanied by debutants Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie.
At a pre-launch press conference, Chen Dong emphasized the mutual trust and understanding between the three astronauts, while Wang explained that as a flight engineer, he would be responsible for the maintenance, repair and management of weightlessness protection technologies.
For his part, Chen Zhongrui admitted to being nervous at the beginning of the training, but said the team was “fully integrated.”
During their stay on the space station, the astronauts will conduct scientific research and extravehicular activities, as well as technical tests and experiments with organisms such as planarians and zebrafish to study biological processes in microgravity.
The three will become the ninth group to inhabit the Tiangong, where they will live for a short time with the outgoing crew of the Shenzhou-19 mission, consisting of Cai Xuzhe, Wang Haoze and Song Lingdong, who arrived on Oct. 30, 2024, and will complete their mission on Apr. 29.
The Tiangong station will operate for about ten years and could become one of the most important orbital platforms in operation, especially as the International Space Station – a US-led initiative that China is barred from accessing due to the military nature of its space program – nears its scheduled retirement in 2030.
China has invested heavily in its space program, successfully landing the Chang’e 4 probe on the far side of the moon for the first time, and reaching Mars for the first time, becoming the third country after the US and the former Soviet Union to land on the planet.
The Asian giant also plans to build a scientific research base on the Moon’s south pole with Russia and other countries. EFE
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