New Beginnings: China’s Shenzhou-18 Mission to the Tiangong Space Station and its Quest to Reach the Moon

On Wednesday, China announced that it will be sending a new crew to the Tiangong space station as part of its mission to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030. The Shenzhou-18 mission, with three astronauts, is set to take off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Thursday. The crew will be led by Ye Guangfu, a fighter pilot and astronaut who was part of the Shenzhou-13 mission in 2021. Joining him on their first space mission will be astronauts Li Cong and Li Guangsu.

Commander Ye expressed his confidence in completing the mission and called it a “new beginning.” Li Guangsu shared his excitement about seeing the beauty of Earth from space and expressed a desire to see the stars twinkle for his son. The astronauts will conduct experiments in orbit for six months, including gravity and physics experiments, biological sciences, and a high-resolution global greenhouse gas detection project.

The Tiangong space station, meaning “heavenly palace,” is a key component of China’s space program, which also includes missions to Mars and the Moon. The station is continuously manned by teams of three astronauts. China has made significant investments in its space program under President Xi Jinping, with plans to send a manned mission to the Moon by 2030 and establish a base on the lunar surface.