China extends Tiangong operations with Shenzhou-23 as lunar race heats up

• IN PHOTO: Screenshot from the launch video of the Shenzhou-23 mission to the Tiangong space station.

China has launched the Shenzhou-23 mission to the Tiangong space station, sending three astronauts into orbit as Beijing prepares for longer human spaceflight missions tied to its goal of landing astronauts on the Moon by 2030.

The mission lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on May 24, carrying Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Yuanzhi, and Li Jiaying, also known as Lai Ka-ying. Li is the first astronaut from Hong Kong to join a Chinese space mission.

While Tiangong crew rotations have typically lasted around six months, one member of the Shenzhou-23 crew is expected to remain in orbit for about a year. The extended stay is expected to give China more data on long-duration human spaceflight, including crew health, life-support performance, station maintenance, and daily operations in microgravity.

The mission is part of China’s broader effort to prepare for more complex space operations beyond low-Earth orbit. Longer stays aboard Tiangong could help engineers and mission planners understand how astronauts and spacecraft systems respond to extended missions, a key requirement for future lunar flights.

China is also pursuing the International Lunar Research Station, a planned lunar research base that it hopes to develop with partner countries. The first phase of the project is targeted around 2035 near the Moon’s south pole.

The Shenzhou-23 mission also comes as China looks to expand international participation in its space station program. A Pakistani astronaut is expected to fly to Tiangong through a future mission, a move that could help position the station as an alternative platform for countries seeking access to human spaceflight research.

China’s space program has grown rapidly over the past three decades, supported by major investments in launch systems, robotic exploration, and crewed spaceflight. Its milestones include the Chang’e-4 mission, which made the first successful landing on the far side of the Moon in 2019, and the Zhurong rover mission to Mars in 2021.

Tiangong has become the centerpiece of China’s human spaceflight program after the country was left out of the International Space Station program and faced US restrictions on NASA cooperation with Beijing.

For China, Shenzhou-23 is not only another crew rotation. It is a test of whether its astronauts, spacecraft, and orbital systems can support the longer and more demanding missions needed for the Moon and, eventually, deeper space exploration.