The 20th Chinese spacecraft of the space program, "Shenzhou 20," is expected to launch at 5:17 PM on the afternoon of the 24th. The astronaut crew conducting the manned flight mission of Shenzhou 20 consists of Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie, with Chen Dong serving as the commander. The crew includes two pilots and one flight engineer.

Lin Xiqiang, spokesperson for China's Manned Space Program, stated that Hong Kong and Macao astronauts, serving as payload specialists, are expected to carry out their first flight missions no earlier than 2026.

CCTV reported that astronaut Chen Dong has previously executed the manned flight missions of Shenzhou 11 and Shenzhou 14, and will serve as the commander again after a two-year gap. Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie both come from the third batch of astronauts and are conducting their first flight missions.

Lin Xiqiang noted that this mission is the fifth manned flight task in the application and development phase of the space station and the 35th flight mission of China's manned space program.

The main objectives of the mission are to complete the orbital rotation with the Shenzhou 19 crew, stay in the space station for about six months, conduct space science and application experiments, implement extravehicular activities and cargo transfers, install space debris protection equipment, and install and recover external payloads and external equipment.

In addition, the Shenzhou 20 mission will conduct three life science experiments using subjects such as zebras, planarians, and streptomyces. Among them, the planarian spatial regeneration experiment is conducted for the first time domestically.

Lin Xiqiang pointed out that after the Shenzhou 19 astronaut crew completes the orbital rotation with the Shenzhou 20 astronaut crew, they plan to return to the Dongfeng landing site on the 29th of this month. As for the Shenzhou 20 astronaut crew, they plan to return to the Dongfeng landing site in late October this year.

A payload specialist is a scientist or engineer responsible for various scientific experiments and explorations in space, and belongs to a non-professional astronaut. In September 2022, China initiated the selection of the fourth batch of reserve astronauts, including the selection of payload specialists from Hong Kong and Macao for the first time. Ultimately, the first female payload specialist from Hong Kong, Dr. Li Jiaying, who holds the rank of chief inspector in the police force, was selected, specializing in information technology and computer fields.

Hong Kong China News Agency reported that the China Manned Space Engineering Office announced the completion of the selection work for the fourth batch of reserve astronauts in June 2024, with a total of 10 reserve astronauts finally selected, including 8 astronaut pilots and 2 payload specialists (1 payload specialist each from Hong Kong and Macao).

In October 2024, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the Hong Kong SAR Government, Sun Dong, revealed that the selected Hong Kong payload specialists have begun training tasks in Beijing. The training requires 2 years or more, hoping that the training proceeds smoothly and that they may have the opportunity to enter space.

Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7496341154787607055/

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