BEIJING: The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said on Wednesday that it had concluded the selection of a fourth batch of astronauts to join future space missions.
According to China Central Television, China has outlined plans to select between 12 and 14 trainee astronauts to augment its existing cadre of astronauts for forthcoming spaceflight endeavours. This group of candidates encompasses individuals skilled in piloting, flight engineering, and payload management.
China started the selection process in 2022. By August 2023, the second stage was completed, and about 20 candidates entered the final round.
Trainee astronauts will go through an intense training that normally lasts three and a half years before they are ready to conduct space missions.
China is planning two manned space missions in April and October this year, using the Long March 2F carrier rocket to send the Shenzhou XVIII and Shenzhou XIX manned spacecraft to the orbiting Tiangong space station.
Also in October, Tianzhou-8, an improved
large-capacity cargo spacecraft, is scheduled to deliver supplies to the Chinese space station.
Source: Emirates News Agency