The Chinese language house station Tiangong, completely occupied since June 5, 2022, is about to obtain a brand new set of crew members. Shenzhou 23 is scheduled to launch atop a Chang Zheng 2F (CZ-2F) from Website 91 on the Jiuquan Satellite tv for pc Launch Heart within the Interior Mongolia province of northwest China.
Launch is scheduled for Sunday, Might 24, at 15:08 UTC. The rocket will fly southeast to take Shenzhou 23 and its three crew members to a low-Earth orbit inclined 41.47 levels to the equator. This can match Tiangong’s orbit for a rendezvous and docking a number of hours after liftoff.
Shenzhou 23 will dock to a port on the Tianhe core module and be a part of the Shenzhou 22 and Tianzhou 10 spacecraft already docked to the station. The present crew members will conduct a handover interval with the brand new crew earlier than returning to Earth aboard Shenzhou 22.
Shenzhou 23 after rollout to its launch pad on Might 16, 2026. (Credit score: VCG)
Shenzhou 22 was launched uncrewed to Tiangong to supply a return spacecraft for Shenzhou 21 astronauts Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, and Zhang Hongzhang. This was after the Shenzhou 20 spacecraft suffered injury to its crew return module’s window due to a suspected particles strike.
The Chinese language Manned House Company (CMSA) has a coverage of getting a second CZ-2F and Shenzhou spacecraft readied to fly near any given mission to permit for a launch-on-need mission. This coverage had its first operational use in the course of the Shenzhou 20 state of affairs.
The Shenzhou 20 crew, Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie, landed safely aboard Shenzhou 21 on Nov. 14, 2025, in Interior Mongolia. Tiangong’s remaining occupants, Zhang, Wu, and Zhang, solely had the broken Shenzhou 20 craft for an emergency return to Earth for 11 days.
An astronaut utilizing a digicam to {photograph} injury to the Shenzhou 20 spacecraft throughout an EVA on Dec. 9, 2025. (Credit score: CMSA)
As issues turned out, the Shenzhou 20 crew module safely touched down within the Gobi Desert on Jan. 19, 2026. The outgoing Tiangong crew will land in China utilizing the Shenzhou 22 spacecraft within the coming days after Shenzhou 23’s launch and station handover to the brand new crew.
CMSA sometimes names Shenzhou crews simply days earlier than launch. Shenzhou 23’s mission commander is Zhu Yangzhu, with taikonauts Zhang Zhiyuan and Li Jiaying (also referred to as Lai Ka-ying) touring alongside Yangzhu.
Mission commander Zhu, 39 years of age, was born in Jiangsu province on the Chinese language east coast. He’s a senior colonel within the Individuals’s Liberation Military (PLA) Floor Drive, an engineer, and a veteran of the Shenzhou 16 mission to Tiangong in 2023. He has almost 154 days in house to his credit score, together with extravehicular exercise (EVA) expertise, and is a member of the third group of Chinese language selectees.
Shenzhou 23 crew L to R: Li Jiaying, Zhu Yangzhu, and Zhang Zhiyuan. (Credit score: Xinhua)
Mission pilot Zhang, additionally 39, is a colonel within the PLA Air Drive and a member of the Chinese language Group 3 of taikonauts as properly. Shenzhou 23 can be his first flight into house. Payload specialist Li, 43 years of age, is the primary Chinese language astronaut from Hong Kong to fly. Shenzhou 23 will function her first spaceflight.
Li, previously an inspector with the Hong Kong police, additionally holds a doctorate in info science and computing. She was chosen as a part of the fourth Chinese language taikonaut group. China not too long ago opened its taikonaut choice course of to residents of the Hong Kong and Macau particular administrative areas.
Two crew members will keep aboard Tiangong for a roughly six month tour of obligation just like different crews, whereas one other will stay on the station for roughly one yr. This could set a brand new Chinese language house endurance report, and the taikonaut who units this report will return aboard Shenzhou 24. This astronaut has not but been recognized, however can be chosen later based mostly on well being.
The Shenzhou-20 crew use the Tiangong station’s new oven. (Credit score: CCTV)
The Shenzhou 23 crew will conduct experiments and analysis in human well being in house together with experiments with human stem cell-derived synthetic cells and embryos from zebrafish and mice. They are going to check experimental lunar fibers, mount a greenhouse fuel monitor on the skin of the station, and conduct many different experiments in numerous fields and upkeep actions, together with spacewalks.
This flight can be second launch of the CZ-2F rocket in 2026, following the launch of an experimental spaceplane on Feb. 7. Shenzhou 23 can also be the third orbital and fourth general crew launch of this yr, with the others being the NS-38 suborbital flight, the Crew-12 mission to the Worldwide House Station, and the Artemis II crewed lunar flyby.
The Shenzhou spacecraft and CZ-2F first flew in 1999, and the primary crewed Shenzhou flight passed off in October 2003 with Yang Liwei turning into the primary Chinese language individual in house to fly on a Chinese language-built automobile. CMSA is presently growing the Mengzhou spacecraft to succeed Shenzhou, which is predicted to later fly crews to the Moon.
Render of the Mengzhou and Lanyue docked collectively. (Credit score: CMSA)
Mengzhou 1, the primary uncrewed check flight of the Mengzhou capsule, is scheduled to fly someday later this yr atop a Chang Zheng 10A. One model of Mengzhou will succeed the Shenzhou for flights to Tiangong, whereas one other model will fly astronauts on lunar touchdown missions with the Lanyue lander.
Assuming issues proceed usually, Shenzhou 24 is scheduled to fly someday this fall, presumably in October. It can fly with a Pakistani payload specialist on the crew for every week in house and a return aboard Shenzhou 23.
(Lead picture: The Shenzhou 23 spacecraft and its CZ-2F service rocket throughout rollout on Might 16, 2026. Credit score: Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)
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