China just sent its first civilian astronaut to space

Three Shenzhou-16 astronauts.
(Image credit: Kevin Frayer / Getty Images)

China on Tuesday launched its Shenzhou-16 space mission, which counted the nation's first civilian astronaut among its three-person crew, CNN reported. The astronauts were sent to China's Tiangong space station to take over for the Shenzhou-15 astronauts. This is China's fifth mission to the space station since 2021.

The crew — Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao — will spend five months aboard the space station. Gui, a professor at Beihang University, is the first civilian astronaut to participate in a mission. "China is trying to make sure that in the next two decades, it will have enough well-trained astronauts, both experienced and young, to prepare for even larger missions, such as landing on the moon, and even on Mars," according to Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Agency.

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Devika Rao, The Week US

 Devika Rao has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022, covering science, the environment, climate and business. She previously worked as a policy associate for a nonprofit organization advocating for environmental action from a business perspective.