--- title: "China Is Sending the First Woman Astronaut to Its Brand New Space Station" description: "China has unveiled the crew for its next crewed mission to its Tiangong space station, including the first female astronaut to venture to the outpost." date: "2021-10-14" modified: "2021-10-14" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-woman-astronaut-space-station" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "china" - "china space station" - "space station" - "the digest" --- # China Is Sending the First Woman Astronaut to Its Brand New Space Station ![China has unveiled the crew for its next crewed mission to its Tiangong space station, including the first female astronaut to venture to the outpost.]() *\Image: New China TV\* ## Crewed Up China has unveiled the crew for its Shenzou 13 mission to the country's brand new Tiangong space station, including the first female astronaut to venture to the outpost, the [*South China Morning Post* reports](). Wang Yaping will spend six months on board the space station — the country's [longest]() crewed mission to date — alongside astronauts Zhai Zhigang and Ye Guangfu. She could also become the first female Chinese astronaut to complete a spacewalk. "After eight years of relentless effort, I am going back to space again," Wang told reporters on Thursday, as quoted by *SCMP*. "Students, let me know what you want to learn this time. I will prepare a great lecture for you in orbit." ## Early Days Yaping became China's second female astronaut to go to space during her stay on board the Shenzhou 10 spacecraft. The small capsule orbited the Earth in 2013 and docked with the [Tiangong-1](), an early prototype space station. The country's first female astronaut was Liu Yang, who traveled to space as part of the Shenzhou 9 mission in 2012, eight and a half years after China's first-ever crewed mission. Zhai trained with the European Space Agency and is fluent in English. That makes him an important part of the country's efforts to host other countries on the Tiangong space station, *SCMP* reports. The crew will be tasked with working on other modules of the space station and carrying out scientific experiments. ## Building Tiangong China has big plans to finish the construction of its Tiangong space station. Next year, the country's space agency is planning to complete six missions, including two crewed missions and the addition of two new modules housing laboratories. The team will also have a reason to celebrate. The astronauts on the upcoming mission will be the first Chinese astronauts to celebrate Lunar New Year in space, according to *SCMP*. **READ MORE:** [China unveils Shenzhou 13 crew for next mission to Tiangong space station]() \[*South China Morning Post*\] **More on China's space program:** *[The Bunks in the Chinese Space Station Are Absolutely Enormous]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()