By Samuel Eugene
Marking the country’s 10th Space Day, China launched three astronauts aboard the Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft on Thursday to its Tiangong space station, continuing its rotation of personnel as part of its long-term space habitation ambitions.
The spacecraft lifted off at 5:17 pm Beijing Time from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China, with the launch broadcast live by state-run television network CGTN.
Onboard are astronauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, who will relieve the current crew that has been stationed at Tiangong for the past six months. Their predecessors are expected to return to Earth on 29 April, while the Shenzhou-20 crew is scheduled to come back to the Dongfeng landing site in north China in late October.
The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said that Shenzhou-20 marks the 35th flight mission of China’s manned space programme, and the fifth crewed mission during the application and development stage of the Tiangong space station.
The current mission will involve a suite of scientific experiments, including new life science studies exploring the regenerative capabilities of organisms in space.
“The crew will conduct new life science experiments involving zebrafish, planarians and streptomyces,” CMSA spokesman Lin Xiqiang told the media on Wednesday.
“These experiments will mark China’s first space-based investigation into the regeneration of planarians, a new organism introduced to China’s space station and known for their extraordinary ability to regrow organs,” Lin said.
“This project will enhance our understanding of fundamental mechanisms of regeneration at the individual level and could provide insights into human health issues related to space-induced injuries,” he added.
China’s Space Day, established in 2016, commemorates the launch of its first satellite Dongfanghong-1, which entered orbit on 24 April 1970.
In a significant development underscoring its international outreach, the CMSA also announced that two Pakistani astronauts will be selected for spaceflight training in China. One of them will participate in a joint mission as a payload specialist, state-run Xinhua reported.
China constructed the Tiangong space station after its reported exclusion from the International Space Station (ISS) amid concerns from Western nations about the role of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in its space programme.
At present, China operates the only fully functioning national space station in orbit, while the ISS remains a joint international effort. With the ISS nearing its scheduled retirement, observers suggest Tiangong may soon become the sole permanent human outpost in low-Earth orbit.
The station has also drawn scrutiny, particularly for its robotic arms, including a long mechanical limb capable of grasping and manipulating objects in space, including satellites—raising strategic concerns internationally.
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