Female spaceflight engineer joins Shenzhou-19 crew

RTHK：Video News

The nation's only female spaceflight engineer will be among a fresh crew of three astronauts that will travel to the Tiangong space station. Shenzhou 19 crewmember Wang Haoze will become the third Chinese woman to take part in a crewed mission. Wang was introduced on Tuesday along with her fellow crewmates Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center before their scheduled blast off at 4.27am on Wednesday. “I’m full ready for the mission,” she said. “I would devote all my energy and focus and attention to this mission. Together with my colleagues we are about to explore the universe and space. With every sunrise and sunset, we’d like to make them the landmarks of our journey to the universe.” The China Manned Space Agency said the Shenzhou 19 team will carry out their mission before returning to Earth in "late April or early May next year". Many duties await the new crew including science and application tests, and installing protective devices against space debris. Wang said she was looking forward to conducting these tasks. “I also would like to fly around in space and also wave towards the stars. I would also like to look back from space to see our planet Earth and our motherland.” Xinhua News Agency said the Shenzhou-19 crew will complete an in-orbit rotation with the Shenzhou-18 trio and stay at the space station for about six months. During this time, they will witness the arrival of the Tianzhou-8 cargo craft and the Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceship and even celebrate the Lunar New Year. Song Lingdong said he wanted to send a special Spring Festival greeting from space. “For my first visit to space, I have this privilege to celebrate this important festival for Chinese people in space and on Earth. We can share the same moment of celebration and we can also send greetings for the Lunar New Year from space.” The Tiangong space station is the crown jewel of the nation's space programme. China has ramped up plans to achieve its space dream, with Beijing saying it aims to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030. (Additional reporting by AFP)