China to unveil younger team of astronauts for Shenzhou 13 space mission
- The mission, which is planned to last for six months, will be piloted by Zhai Zhigang, 55, Wang Yaping, 41, and Ye Guangfu, 41
- Wang will become China’s first female astronaut to work in its new Tianhe core module of the Chinese space station
China is set to unveil on Thursday a younger team of three astronauts for its Shenzhou 13 space mission, which is expected to take off in its northwest Gobi desert shortly after midnight on Saturday.
The mission, which is planned to last for six months, will be piloted by Zhai Zhigang, 55, Wang Yaping, 41, and Ye Guangfu, 41, who were the backup crew of the recently completed Shenzhou 12 mission, said a source familiar with the mission plan. Wang will become China’s first female astronaut to work in its new Tianhe core module of the Chinese space station.
It will be the second space flight for Wang, who was a crew member of the Shenzhou 10 mission in 2013. Liu Yang, 43, who joined the Shenzhou 9 mission in June 2012, was the first Chinese woman in space.
The Shenzhou 13 crew members are on average six years younger than their seniors – Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo – who returned to Earth last month after spending three months in the space station. Nie, 56, is currently China’s oldest astronaut serving in active space mission.
“Barring no unforeseen circumstances, they (Zhai, Wang and Ye) will be on board Shenzhou-13,” said the source at Dongfeng space city in Jiuquan in China’s Gansu province.
A Long March 2F Y13 rocket will carry the three astronauts to the space station. Lift-off is now scheduled for the early hours of Saturday.