EXPLAINED: The Historic Mission That China Has Launched To Set Up Its 'Home' In Space
News 18What do you do when your astronauts are not hosted by the International Space Station, the only platform for human crews to stay and conduct experiments in space? The trio of Chinese astronauts who have blasted off from Gobi desert for what is China’s first crewed space flight in five years, and also its longest ever, will help with the building of the Tiangong space station as the dragon ups its space game. The launch of Shenzhou-12, which means ‘Divine Vessel’ in Chinese, is the first crewed mission for taking forward the construction of China’s space station. China will use three of the 11 missions to set up the core module of its space station, which sits at the moment in low-Earth orbit. But hinting at a readiness to cooperate with other countries, Assistant Director of the China Manned Space Agency, Ji Qiming, told reporters at the Gobi desert launch site that with China stepping up international cooperation and exchanges, it’s only a matter of time before foreign astronauts join Chinese astronauts on missions to the station.