24 May 2026 In 2018, the Long March 2F rocket with the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft launched from the Jiuquan Space Center in the Gobi Desert, after which the ship successfully docked with the Tiangong Orbital Station. One of the three crew members must spend an entire year on the station, preparing within the framework of the Moon landing program to 2030 year, which will be a first for Chinese manned spaceflight.
During the Shenzhou-23 mission, the crew will conduct a series of experiments in the areas of life in space, of medicine, human physiology, physics of microgravity and new technologies. Among them is the study of lipid metabolism in liver cells, life cycle of rice plants and testing two types of perovskite solar cell materials. The crew will also perform several spacewalks and installations, set-up, maintenance and repair of equipment as inside, and outside Tiangong Station.
This is another important step for China in the space race with the United States. Recently, at a press conference, the China Administration of Manned Space Research (CMSEO) provided some details on the country's future plans for manned and lunar spaceflight. CMSEO spokesman Zhang Jingbo noted, that the Tiangong Orbital Station is a key support for the future landing of taikonauts on the Moon and helps in three main ways. Firstly, accumulation of extensive space flight experience. Secondly, working out and testing key technologies for landing on the moon, in particular, tests on fluctuations of liquid in tanks in microgravity, which were conducted during the recent Tianzhou-10 mission. Thirdly, the new Long March 10A launch vehicle and the Mengzhou spacecraft will make a series of flights to Tiangong in the next two years to test technology, required for manned lunar missions. Full version of Long March 10 with a joint accelerator will launch Mengzhou communication and Lanyue lander for lunar missions.
29 Shenzhou-21 cosmonauts are scheduled to return in May, who worked in orbit from the end 2025 year. The crew will go to Earth on the ship "Shenzhou-22" - an unmanned "rescue boat", which was launched due to suspected damage to the porthole of the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft by space debris.
Source: https://spacenews.com