China is sending three astronauts on Sunday, June 5, for its Shenzhou 14 mission. The exploration will last for six months, and it will be the third out of four crewed missions this year.
The space agency will aim to finish the core module of the under-construction Tiangong space station this time.
China Shenzhou 14 Crewed Mission to Kick Off Soon
(Photo : STR/AFP via Getty Images)
China will send a trio of second-gen astronauts to the Tiangong Space Station as part of the Shenzhou-14 space mission.
As per NDTV's report, the Shenzhou-14 spacecraft will be delivered by the Long March-2F rocket. The mission will start at around 10:44 AM local time in the northwestern region of Gansu, particularly from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
The three-man mission will consist of the second-generation astronauts who have been air force pilots -- Cai Xuzhe, Chen Dong, and Liu Yang.
As of writing, China's own space station is still under construction. Once its space labs and the core module are finished, the country will create a history by building the largest space station in low orbit.
Speaking of the members, the 43-year-old Chen will be the leader of the upcoming space mission. He was a key part of the 2016 Shenzhou 11 launch when he went to the Tiangong-2 space lab.
On the other hand, Liu, also 43, will be the lone woman in the mission. Previously, she joined the Shenzhou 9 exploration when she ventured the Tiangong-1.
The last astronaut will be Cai, 46, preparing for his first-ever space trip. One of their missions is to dock a couple of space labs, namely Mengtian and Wentian, later in 2022.
Upon touching down at the space station, another batch of the trio will arrive as part of the Shenzhou 15 mission. According to the South China Morning Post, this is the first time that China will simultaneously house six persons at Tiangong.
Related Article: Wenchang Spaceport Gears Up to Send China's Second Space Station Module Into Orbit
Venturing Inside the Tiangong Space Station
As part of the mission, the modules will be relocated to pave the way for the new ships.
From the Wentian lab, Lin said that the crew will execute two to three spacewalks. Apart from that, the modules will undergo two reconfigurations.
The astronauts are also responsible for overseeing the three undockings and five undockings.
"Tasks come one after another. There will be nine configurations of the space station in the course of this mission," Lin said.
In other news, Tech Times reported that there was a new algorithm that detected over 100 hidden asteroids in space. One of them was seen to be so enormous that it could be compared to the size of a "blue whale."
According to the astronomers, this dangerous asteroid posed a lot of hazards to the people on the earth. The Asteroid 2021 GT2 seems to be approaching the planet at the time.
Read Also: China to Propose Space Mission Focused on Hunting Exoplanets Capable of Hosting Life
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Written by Joseph Henry
