China: she is the only space engineer on a crew that will go to its orbital station

The only female space engineer in China will be part of the new crew of three astronauts that will go this week to the Tiangong orbital station, Beijing announced on Tuesday.

The Shenzhou-19 mission is scheduled to take off with the three astronauts at 04:27 on Wednesday (20:27 GMT on Tuesday) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, in the northwest of the country, reported the China Manned Space Agency (CSA).

On the crew will be Wang Haoze, 34, who the agency says is the country’s only female space engineer. She will also be the third Chinese woman to participate in a manned mission.

“Like everyone else, I dream of going to look at the space station,” Wang told reporters along with his crewmates.

“I want to meticulously complete each task and protect our home in space,” he added.

Experiments

The new space station equipment will conduct experiments toward the Chinese space program’s ambitious goal of landing astronauts on the moon by 2030 and eventually building a lunar base.

The team, headed by Cai Xuzhe, plans to return to Earth “at the end of April or beginning of May next year,” AETC deputy director Lin Xiqiang said at a press conference on Tuesday.

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Cai, a 48-year-old former air force pilot, has already been to the Tiangong space station as part of the 2022 Shenzhou-14 mission.

“Being chosen for the new crew, with a new function, facing new tasks and challenges, I feel the honor of my mission with great responsibility,” Cai said.

The veteran added that the crew is “fully prepared mentally, technically, physically and psychologically” for the mission.

The third crew member is Song Lingdong, Lin announced.

The current Tiangong space station crew is scheduled to return to Earth on November 4, after completing transfer procedures with the new astronauts, according to the deputy director.

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The Chinese space program has also sent robotic probes to Mars and the Moon.

The Tiangong station, manned by three astronauts exchanged every six months, is the jewel in the crown of the Chinese space program.

The Shenzhou-19 mission will carry out several experiments on the station, including some with “bricks” made from components that imitate lunar soil, according to state television CCTV.

These objects will be tested to determine how they behave under extreme conditions of radiation, gravity, temperature and other situations.

China has invested billions of dollars in developing a space program comparable to those of the United States and Russia.