Space: China will send the youngest crew in its history

China is due to send its youngest crew of astronauts into space on Thursday to its Tiangong space station. Her goal is to expand her knowledge of manned missions against the Americans and Russians.

This is valuable experience for the Asian giant, which aims to send a Chinese man to the moon by 2030. This is the main goal of the space program, which has been developing steadily for several decades.

The Shenzhou 17 mission trio plans to take off on Thursday at 11:14 a.m. (5:14 a.m. Paris time) from the launch center of Jiuquan, in the Gobi Desert (northwest of the country). It consists of Commander Tang Hongbo, born in October 1975, his colleague Tang Shengjie (33 years old), and Jiang Xinlin (35 years old).

Only 20 years of experience compared to 60 years in Russia and the USA.

The average age of the crew is 38 years, compared with 42 years during the previous Shenzhou 16 mission. “This is the crew of astronauts of the youngest average age” since China began manned space flights, the Chinese government emphasized.

China has some catching up to do in this area because it only sent its first man into space in 2003, long after the Soviets and Americans did in 1961. “In the last two years I have often dreamed of returning to space. space,” said veteran Tang Hongbo this Wednesday during a press conference with his fellow astronauts. “The space station is our other home, taking us away from Earth and into the universe,” added a person who took part in the Shenzhou 12 mission in 2021.

Tiangong, which is now completed, has been in its final T-shape for several months. It is similar in size to the former Russian-Soviet Mir station, but much smaller than the International Space Station (ISS). Also known as CSS (which means “Chinese Space Station” in English), it is expected to remain in Earth orbit for at least 10 years.

Impossible cooperation with the Americans

Chinese astronauts provide crew rotation, permanent occupation of Tiangong, maintenance and research work, and the slow expansion of the station’s capabilities. In May, China sent its first civilian astronaut Gui Haichao, an expert in space science and technology, into space as part of a previous mission. He did not come from the armed forces, as had systematically happened before.

China was forced in part to build its own station due to the US refusal to allow it to participate in the ISS. American law prohibits virtually any cooperation between American and Chinese space authorities. However, the Asian giant is willing to carry out international cooperation around Tiangong, especially for experiments.

China has already invested billions of euros in its space program. In 2019, the country landed a spacecraft on the far side of the Moon for the first time in the world. In 2020, the company brought back samples from the Moon and completed development of Beidou, its satellite navigation system. And in 2021, China landed a small robot on Mars.