Shenzhou-23 mission will take off with 3 astronauts; launch will be on Sunday (May 24)
This Saturday (May 23, 2026), China presented the Shenzhou-23 space mission, which will send a Hong Kong astronaut into space for the first time. The rocket launch will be on Sunday (May 24), at 12:08 pm (Brasília time).
The announcement also confirmed the start of an unprecedented experiment to keep 1 of the crew in orbit for 1 consecutive year. The information is from the agency EFEfrom Spain.
A Shenzhou-23 é a 7th manned mission. It will be commanded by Zhu Yangzhu, accompanied by astronauts Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying.
Yangzhu of the Shenzhou-16 mission. The other 2 crew members will make their first space flight. The group must carry out the relay with the Shenzhou-21 team, which has been running for 203 days.
During their stay, the new astronauts will carry out more than 100 scientific projects. They will do research with zebrafish and mouse embryos and experiments with fluid physics and new energy technologies.
Another objective of the mission is to study human adaptation for long-duration flights, aiming for future explorations.
SPACE RACE
The space between China and the United States focuses on the development of satellite constellations in low Earth orbit. Although the US has an advantage in the volume of launches, China has accelerated the pace to shorten deadlines from decades to years. There were 93 launches in the country in 2025 and the projection is to surpass the number of 100 operations in 2026.
Currently, it leads the sector, with 9,400 pieces of equipment in orbit. China has approximately 300. To expand its position, Beijing has registered more than 200,000 satellites with the ITU (International Telecommunications Union). It seeks to secure orbital resources and radio frequencies in the face of the increase in the number of equipment in Earth orbit.
