Key Takeaways
- The Shenzhou-19 crew will conduct space science and application tests during their mission.
- The crew will perform extravehicular activities and install protective devices against space debris.
- The Shenzhou-19 mission will also include science education and public welfare activities.
Jiuquan: Chinese astronauts Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze will carry out the Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceflight mission, and Cai will be the commander, the China Manned Space Agency announced at a press conference on Tuesday.
The Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 4:27 a.m. Wednesday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, said Lin Xiqiang, spokesperson of the agency.
Cai completed the Shenzhou-14 space mission in 2022. Song and Wang, among the third batch of Chinese astronauts, are newcomers to space. Both of them were born in the 1990s.
Song was a former air force pilot before being selected as an astronaut, and Wang previously served as a senior engineer at the Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
Wang is currently China’s only female space flight engineer and will become the third Chinese woman to embark on a crewed spaceflight mission, the agency noted.
The Shenzhou-19 astronauts will complete in-orbit rotation with the Shenzhou-18 trio and stay at the space station for approximately six months, witnessing the arrival of the Tianzhou-8 cargo craft and Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceship during the mission.
The Shenzhou-19 crew has a packed schedule ahead, with tasks including: conducting space science and application tests, performing extravehicular activities, and installing protective devices against space debris. They will also engage in science education and public welfare activities, among other tasks.
The Shenzhou-19 astronauts are scheduled to return to the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in late April or early May next year, according to the agency.
