SCIENCE

China sends 1st civilian to space

By Sanjana Shankar

1

Shenzhou 16 mission

China has sent its first civilian, Gui Haichao, to space. He is part of a crewed mission, Shenzhou 16, to the Tiangong space station.

2

Astronauts

Up until now, all the Chinese astronauts on space missions have been a part of the country's armed forces.

3

Crew

Haichao is accompanied by two other astronauts, Jing Haipeng and Zhu Yangzhu, on the Shenzhou 16 mission. It is the fourth spaceflight for Haipeng.

4

Mission operations

Haichao will handle the science payloads on the mission while Yangzhu and Haipeng will manage the spacecraft and carry out technical tests.

5

Fifth crewed mission

Shenzhou 16 is China's fifth crewed mission to the recently established Tiangong space station since 2021.

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