China launched the Shenzhou 23 spacecraft with 3 astronauts heading to its space station. One astronaut is set to stay in space for a year to explore human adaptability in long-duration spaceflights.

China's Shenzhou 23 astronaut mission launched Sunday (May 24) to relieve an overdue crew on the Tiangong space station.

JIUQUAN, China >> China sent three astronauts to its space station on Sunday, one of whom will stay for a year, a record length for the country, enabling the study of long-duration human physiology in space as Beijing works towards its ambition of a crewed moon landing by 2030.

China launched its crewed Shenzhou-23 spacecraft and eased it into a successful docking with a space station early Monday as part of Beijing's ambitions to send humans to the Moon by 2030, state media said.

Hong Kong astronaut Lai Ka-ying has made history after launching aboard China’s Shenzhou-23 mission bound for the Tiangong space station.

Astronauts Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan, and Lai Ka-ying, who is the first astronaut from Hong Kong, wave during a see-off ceremony before taking part in the Shenzhou-23 spaceflight mission to China's Tiangong space station,

The new space race is no longer science fiction — and China is moving fast to challenge NASA for the next giant leap. As crews continue launching to the Tiangong space station, Beijing is quietly