China celebrated a significant achievement as its youngest astronauts reached space aboard the Shenzhou 19 spacecraft, carrying a three-person crew that includes China’s first female space engineer. After a six-hour journey, the spacecraft successfully docked with China’s Tiangong space station, where the crew will remain for six months to conduct experiments and perform spacewalks. This mission is a crucial step in China’s long-term goal of landing astronauts on the Moon by 2030.
The launch of Shenzhou 19 was deemed a “complete success” and is part of a record-breaking year for China’s space program, with over 100 launches planned to solidify its status as a global space power, in competition with the United States. The launch was a spectacle, with flames and thunderous noise lighting up the Gobi Desert, while crowds gathered to cheer on the “taikonauts,” China’s term for astronauts.
At the Tiangong space station, the Shenzhou 19 crew joined three other astronauts from the Shenzhou 18 mission, who are set to return to Earth on November 4. China’s rapid space advancements align with President Xi Jinping’s vision of establishing China as a dominant force in space exploration, a vision he described as an “eternal dream.”
In the U.S., some view China’s accelerated progress as a strategic challenge. Earlier this year, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson described the two countries as being in an implicit “race” to the Moon, with concerns that China may aim to stake territorial claims on the lunar surface, blending its civilian and military ambitions in space.
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