Chinese Astronauts successfully completes 5th manned space mission

Three Chinese astronauts completed their space journey and returned safely to Earth aboard Shenzhou-10 spacecraft which landed in Gobi desert in inner Mangolia

About Mission

• China's 5th manned space mission since 2003
• 15 days Trip ; longest in Chinese Space history
• Spaceship : Shenzhou 10 ; Launcher : Long March-2F rocket ; Launching Station : Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (Gobi Desert)
• Astronauts : Wang Yaping, Nie Haisheng (commander from the mission) and Zhang Xiaoguan

Wang Yaping : China's second woman astronaut

• Wang also gave an area lecture in orbit which was transmitted to Chinese students on the planet
• First Chinese Woman wide was Liu Yang ( Mission- Shenzhou-9, 2012)
• first ever Chinese astronaut directly into Space : Yang Liwei (2003)

Objective :

• To dock using the Tiangong-1 space module (was final trial docking) ; transfer supplies towards the Chinese space lab (in orbit since September 2011)
• master the rendezvous and docking capabilities required for the operation of a manned space platform (proposed Chinese space lab set to become ready by 2020 )
• to acquire the technological and logistical skills to operate a full space station that may house people for long periods
• China's first manned docking exercise : with Tiangong 1 (means Heavenly palace) of Shenzhou-9, June 2012

Challenges :

• However to trap on the reigning superpowers in Space technology, US and Russia, besides mastering these Docking manuoevres , launching of cargo and fuel via space freighters and recycling air and water for longer manned missions needs to be mastered by China.
• Tiangong 2- a functional space lab in orbit is planned in 2 years.

The U.S. closed its toyota tows program in 2011 (with the retirement of Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour Spacecrafts ; The ultimate space shuttle mission was STS-135, Atlantis, July 21, 2011) and it is no longer aggressively pursuing manned space exploration (instead encouraging private sector the likes of Virgin Galactic, Orbital corp, Space X etc to go in the arena)

• Russia and China now 3 countries in the world capable of independently sending humans into space.
• International Space Station (ISS) : some pot venture between NASA, Russia's RKA space agency, Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency, the ecu Space Agency and the Canadian CSA (China isn't part of the project that maintains the ISS).