China launches Shenzhou 23 crew to space station

China has launched the Shenzhou 23 spacecraft carrying three astronauts to its Tiangong space station, with one crew member expected to remain in orbit for up to a year in one of the country's longest planned human spaceflight missions on Sunday according to state media reports.

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Commander Zhu Yangzhu leads the mission alongside Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying, also identified by authorities as Li Jiaying. Lai, born and raised in Hong Kong, holds a doctorate in computer forensics and becomes the first astronaut from the city to participate in a space mission. She is also described by state media as China's fourth female astronaut to go into space in space.

Crew and extended mission

The crew is expected to carry out dozens of science and application projects while in orbit. They will also take part in an in-orbit rotation with the crew of Shenzhou 21, who have been aboard the Tiangong space station for more than 200 days.

Station operations and rotation

The Shenzhou 21 mission included China's youngest astronaut and carried four mice, marking the first live mammals sent on a Chinese space mission since the programme began during their time in orbit at Tiangong station state media said according to state media reports.

Space programme context

China is expanding its space programme as it prepares for a first crewed lunar landing by 2030. The United States is seen as its main rival in space, with NASA targeting a lunar landing in 2028. China was effectively excluded from the International Space Station on US national security concerns, prompting development of its own Tiangong station, which first hosted a crew in 2021. In previous missions, an emergency Shenzhou flight returned astronauts who had been stranded after a spacecraft was damaged. A separate incident saw astronauts delayed for nine days when the window of their return spacecraft was damaged. They ultimately returned on Shenzhou 21 after its crew arrived at the station, while Shenzhou 20 was later deemed unsafe to carry astronauts as the programme continues to develop in the future according to official reports.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Source 25 May 2026

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