China Launches Shenzhou 23 Mission with Historic Yearlong Space Station Deployment]

JIUQUAN, China — China launched its Shenzhou 23 spacecraft on Sunday with three astronauts bound for the Tiangong space station, including one crew member who is set to remain in orbit for a year — marking one of the world’s longest single stays in space.

The spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China on a mission that underscores the nation’s advancing space capabilities. The launch occurs as China prepares for its first crewed lunar landing by 2030.

The mission crew includes commander Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan, and Lai Ka-ying — also identified by Chinese authorities as Li Jiaying. Lai, who was born and raised in Hong Kong and holds a doctoral degree in computer forensics, becomes the first astronaut from the region to travel to space.

The crew will conduct numerous science and application experiments during their mission and is expected to conduct a crew rotation with the Shenzhou 21 team, which has been stationed at Tiangong for over 200 days. The astronaut scheduled for the extended stay will focus on researching human adaptability and performance limits during long-duration spaceflight, according to state media.

China’s space program has conducted multiple astronaut missions to Tiangong, which the country developed after being effectively excluded from the International Space Station due to U.S. national security concerns. The U.S. remains China’s primary space rival, with NASA targeting a 2028 lunar landing.

Tiangong, meaning “Heavenly Palace,” first hosted Chinese crews in 2021. A previous emergency mission under the Shenzhou program returned astronauts who had been stranded on the station due to a damaged spacecraft.

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