China set to launch 5th manned expedition to its space station

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) - Aiming to expand space exploration, China will launch a spacecraft to send three astronauts on Tuesday, marking the fifth manned expedition to the Chinese space station since 2021, the country’s space agency said on Monday.

Gui Haichao, Zhu Yangzhu and Jing Haipeng, the three Chinese taikonauts, a Chinese name for astronauts, are assigned to the upcoming Shenzhou-16 mission, China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said, according to state-run CGTN news.

Taikonauts will also carry at least 10 paintings of African students to the Chinese Space Station. “The paintings will be displayed on the walls of the station,” said the CMSA.

The launch is scheduled for Tuesday at 9:31 a.m. (0131GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, located in the country’s northwest.

Part of Dongfeng Aerospace City, the launch center, is located in the Gobi Desert of China’s Inner Mongolia.

The Shenzhou-16 mission will perform a fast automated rendezvous in orbit and dock with the Tianhe core module, forming a combination of three modules and spaceships, according to the CMSA.

After completing their in-orbit rotation mission with the Shenzhou-16 crew, the Shenzhou-15 crew will return to the Dongfeng landing site in north China.

The Shenzhou-16 crew is expected to remain in the space station for approximately five months, Lin Xiqiang, the deputy director at the CMSA, told a news conference in Beijing.

“Their primary responsibilities during this period will involve conducting a crew handover from the Shenzhou-15 crew, conducting scientific experiments, testing payload applications, performing extravehicular activities (EVAs) and cargo-related tasks from the airlock module, installing extravehicular payloads, as well as carrying out maintenance and repair tasks on the space station,” he said.