China

Zhōngguó

中国

Shenzhou (spacecraft name)

Shénzhōu

神舟

number twenty-three

èrshísān hào

二十三号

to launch

fāshè

发射

successfully

chénggōng

成功

，

Hong Kong

Xiānggǎng

香港

astronaut

hángtiānyuán

航天员

for the first time

shǒucì

首次

to enter

jìnrù

进入

outer space

tàikōng

太空

。

New Words

News in English

China Launches Shenzhou-23 With First Astronaut From Hong Kong

China launched the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft on May 24, carrying three astronauts to the Chinese Space Station. Li Jiaying became the first astronaut from Hong Kong to travel to space.

At 23:08 Beijing time on May 24th, China's Shenzhou 23 spacecraft, carrying three astronauts, lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The astronauts executing this mission are commander Zhu Yangzhu, pilot Zhang Zhiyuan, and payload specialist Li Jiaying. Li Jiaying is from Hong Kong, becoming the first Hong Kong SAR astronaut to enter outer space.

The three astronauts will conduct over one hundred scientific experiments at the space station, covering fields such as life science and aerospace medicine. One astronaut will remain stationed in outer space for one year, exploring the human body's adaptation ability to long-term space flight.

The launch of Shenzhou 23 was several months ahead of the original schedule. The reason was that the previous Shenzhou 22 returned to Earth ahead of schedule.

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