China launches a new crew into space, including its first civilian astronaut

China launched a new three-person crew to its orbiting space station on Tuesday, including the country’s first civilian astronaut.

Liftoff achievement: The Shenzhou 16 spacecraft was launched from the Jiuquan launch center, marking China’s progress to put astronauts on the moon before 2030.
* The crew will overlap with those currently aboard the Tiangong station before they return to Earth after their six-month mission.
* A crewed lunar mission is also planned before 2030 alongside plans to expand the space station.

Background context: China built its own space station after being excluded from the International Space Station, largely due to U.S. concerns over connections between the Chinese space program and the People’s Liberation Army.
* China’s first manned space mission in 2003 made it the third country to put astronauts in space using its own resources.

Competitive aspects: The mission comes amid a rivalry with the U.S. to achieve new milestones in space, reflecting competition for leadership and influence in technology, military, and diplomatic fields.
* While the U.S. has an edge in some areas, China has achieved milestones like returning lunar surface samples and landing a rover on the moon’s far side.
* The U.S. also aims to send astronauts to the lunar surface by 2025 in collaboration with private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin.

View original article on NPR

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