China launched the Shenzhou 23 spacecraft Sunday night with three astronauts heading to its space station, including one set to stay in space for a year. The spacecraft blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China.

China launched the Shenzhou 23 spacecraft Sunday night with three astronauts heading to its space station, including one set to stay in space for a year.

China's Shenzhou 23 astronaut mission launched Sunday (May 24) to relieve an overdue crew on the Tiangong space station.

China launched the Shenzhou 23 spacecraft Sunday night with three astronauts heading to its space station, including one set to stay in space for a year. The spacecraft blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China.

China sends three astronauts to the Tiangong space station, with one expected to stay for up to a year :: Jiuquan Launch Center, China / May 24, 2026 :: The launch comes as Beijing works

China launched its Shenzhou-23 mission on Sunday, which will see a Chinese astronaut spend a full year in orbit for the first time, a crucial step in Beijing's ambition to send humans to the Moon by 2030.

China has named the three astronauts due to fly on the Shenzhou 23 mission on Sunday (May 24), including Hong Kong's first astronaut.

China launched its crewed Shenzhou-23 spacecraft and eased it into a successful docking with a space station early Monday as part of Beijing's ambitions to send humans to the Moon by 2030, state media said.