JIUQUAN, China, Oct.16 (Reuters)—-China on Saturday launched a rocket(carry) three astronauts — two men and one woman—to the core module of a future space stationthey will live and work of six months, the longest orbit for Chinese astronauts.
China began constructing the space station in April with the launch of Tianhe—-the first and(large) of the station's three modules. Slightly bigger than a city bus, Tianhe will be the living quarters of the(complete) space station.
Shenzhou-13 is the second of four crewed missions needed to complete the space station by the end of 2022. During the first crewed missionconcluded in September, three other astronauts stayed on Tianhe for 90 days.
"The most challenging task will be the long-term stay in orbit for six months,"Zhai Zhigang, 55, the mission commander, born to a rural family with six children, told a news conference on Thursday. "It asks for(exact) higher demands (on us),physically and psychologically."
He(accompany) by Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu, both 41. Wang, also born to a rural family, is knowncolleagues for her tenacity(坚韧). The former air force pilot first travelled to space in 2013, to Tiangong-1, a prototype lab. She is China's second female astronaut in space, following Liu Yang in 2012. Shenzhou-13 is the first space mission for the third astronaut, Ye.
the crew returns to Earth in April, China plans to deploy six more missions, including deliveries of the second and third space station modules and two final crewed missions.
