IT·Science News

Shenzhou-23 lifts off with Hong Kong’s first astronaut and a plan for a year in orbit

China launched the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu province on Sunday night, 24 May, sending three astronauts to the Tiangong space station, the Associated Press reported via PBS NewsHour. One of the three is to stay aboard for a year.

The crew is commander Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying, also known as Li Jiaying, the first astronaut from Hong Kong, who holds a doctorate in computer forensics, AP said. It did not say which crew member will stay for the full year. Chinese state media said the long mission is meant to “explore human adaptability and performance limits” in long-duration spaceflight.

AP placed the flight in the wider Moon race: China is preparing for its first crewed lunar landing by 2030, while NASA aims to land astronauts on the Moon in 2028.

How each outlet framed it

• PBS NewsHour (AP) — the people and the race: Hong Kong’s first astronaut, and Tiangong as a training ground for a 2030 Moon landing.
• High Plains Public Radio (NPR) — the headline fact: one of three astronauts set for a yearlong stay.
• Khaosod English — the same year-long angle for readers in Thailand, framing it as one astronaut sent for a year in orbit.

What we don't know yet: which astronaut will stay for the year, and what limits on the body the mission will test.