China launches long-duration Tiangong mission ahead of planned Moon landing

China has sent a three-member crew to the Tiangong orbital station as part of preparations for a planned crewed Moon landing by 2030. Under the mission plan, one of the taikonauts will remain aboard the station for a full year.

The mission marks a national record for China and is intended to help Beijing study the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body.

The Shenzhou-23 spacecraft launched on Sunday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Reuters reported that the crew consists of Commander Zhu Yangzhu, pilot Zhang Yuanzhi and payload specialist Li Jiaying, the first taikonaut of Hong Kong origin.

One of the crew members will spend a year aboard the Tiangong station. Although the mission will rank among the longest in spaceflight history, it will remain below the world record of 14 and a half months set by a Russian cosmonaut in 1995.

China’s Manned Space Agency said on Saturday that the decision on which taikonaut will remain aboard the station for the full year would be determined later, depending on the progress of the mission.

Under the current operational framework, Shenzhou missions transport three-person crews to the station, with teams rotating every six months.

Although China has so far only sent unmanned robotic vehicles to the Moon’s surface, the Shenzhou missions demonstrate the country’s rapidly expanding space capabilities.

In June 2024, Beijing became the first country to return soil samples from the far side of the Moon through a robotic mission.

As part of the Shenzhou-23 mission, China will conduct its first autonomous rapid rendezvous and docking test with the Tiangong station’s core module as preparation for its 2030 lunar objective.

Scientists will also study the physiological effects of long-duration space missions, including radiation exposure, bone mass loss and psychological stress.

A successful crewed Moon landing before 2030 could accelerate China’s joint plans with Russia to establish a permanent base on the lunar surface by 2035.

Wu Weiren, chief scientist of China’s lunar program, previously said the current timeline publicly announced by Beijing had been deliberately designed to be cautious and conservative.