When China's first astronaut Yang Liwei blasted off into space in 2003, it was a history- making moment that declared his country's arrival an emerging space power.
So far, China (become) a major presence in space. It now has its own permanent outpost in orbit—a (full) operational space station-and routinely rotates (轮值) crews to live and work there.
On Thursday, three Chinese astronauts lifted off on the Shenzhou-17 spacecraft from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center deep in the Gobi Desert, (head) for the Tiangong space station for a six-month stay.
They are the (young) crew China has ever sent to space—with average age of 38. Among their tasks on board is to repair the solar panels which (destroy) by space debris years ago—the first time Chinese astronauts will carry out repair work outside the station.
This is China's sixth manned mission to its space station since 2021. The new crew will take over from the Shenzhou-16 astronauts, have been on board since May.
(complete) late last year, the Tiangong—or "heavenly palace" in Chinese—is one of the two space (station) currently in orbit. With a lifespan of 15 years, it could become the only one left when the NASA-led International Space Station(ISS) retires in 2030.