BEIJING (Reuters) – China will send three astronauts into low-Earth orbit on Wednesday in the country’s 14th crewed mission to space, where dozens of scientific experiments will be conducted.
Of the 14 crewed missions, eight were visits to China’s independently built space station Tiangong, or “Celestial Palace” in Chinese.
The latest Shenzhou-19 mission will be led by Cai Xuzhe, who was on the Shenzhou-14 mission in June 2022. The other two crew members, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, are young astronauts born in 1990 that will be conducting their first mission.
Wang is currently China’s only female spaceflight engineer and will be the third female Chinese national to be sent to space. Before Wang Haoze, female astronauts Liu Yang and Wang Yaping each went on two earlier Shenzhou missions.
China launched its first uncrewed spacecraft, Shenzhou-1, in November 1999. Three more unmanned flights followed before Yang Liwei became the first Chinese national to be sent into space on Shenzhou-5.
Mission Year/Month of Launch Crew Gender
Shenzhou-5 2003/October Yang Liwei Male
Shenzhou-6 2005/October Fei Male
Junlong
Nie Male
Haisheng
Shenzhou-7 2008/September Zhai Male
Zhigang
Liu Boming Male
Jing Male
Haipeng
Shenzhou-9 2012/June Jing Male
Haipeng
Liu Wang Male
Liu Yang Female
Shenzhou-10 2013/June Nie Male
Haisheng
Zhang Male
Xiaoguang
Wang Female
Yaping
Shenzhou-11 2016/October Jing Male
Haipeng
Chen Dong Male
Shenzhou-12 2021/June Nie Male
Haisheng
Liu Boming Male
Tang Male
Hongbo
Shenzhou-13 2021/October Zhai Male
Zhigang
Wang Female
Yaping
Ye Guangfu Male
Shenzhou-14 2022/June Chen Dong Male
Liu Yang Female
Cai Xuzhe Male
Shenzhou-15 2022/November Fei Male
Junlong
Deng Male
Qingming
Zhang Lu Male
Shenzhou-16 2023/May Jing Male
Haipeng
Zhu Male
Yangzhu
Gui Male
Haichao
Shenzhou-17 2023/October Tang Male
Hongbo
Tang Male
Shengjie
Jiang Male
Xinlin
Shenzhou-18 2024/April Ye Guangfu Male
Li Cong Male
Li Guangsu Male
Shenzhou-19 2024/October Cai Xuzhe Male
Song Male
Lingdong
Wang Haoze Female
