China set for new manned mission as it unveils space suit

ISTANBUL

Space missions in China are gathering steam with a new manned mission set for later this month when the three-member crew of Shenzhou-18 returns home.

China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) released the exterior design of its red-and-white suit space suit last weekend, during a ceremony in southwestern Chongqing.

CMSA said the new Shenzhou-19 crew members will take control of space operations from the Shenzhou-18 taikonauts who are preparing to return home after conducting six months of research in space.

Ye Guangfu, teammates Li Cong and Li Guangsu of the Shenzhou-18 crew are currently aboard China's indigenously built Tiangong space station.

Ye is a fighter pilot and veteran astronaut who took part in the Shenzhou-13 mission in 2021.

The trio launched on April 25.

Shenzhou-18 is the 32nd mission of China's manned space program and the third manned mission during the operation and development stage of China's space station.

The Shenzhou 19 flight will mark China’s 14th crewed spaceflight and the 19th of the Shenzhou program.

The new crew that is set to be launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Inner Mongolia is composed of three People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps, locally known as taikonauts, on the eighth flight to the Tianhe core module.

Tianhe core is the first module of the Tiangong space station.

China unveiled the name of its new spacecraft in February that will take astronauts on a lunar mission expected by the end of the decade.

The Mengzhou spacecraft and Lan Yue lunar lander will be China’s moon mission.

The white moon-landing spacesuit, expected to be ready before 2030, was showcased at the third Spacesuit Technology Forum held Sept. 28 by the China Astronaut Research and Training Center in Chongqing.

The red stripes on the upper limbs are inspired by the ribbons of the renowned flying apsaras from Dunhuang art, while the stripes on the lower limbs resemble the flames of a rocket launch.

It is designed to protect against the harsh thermal environment and lunar dust while the suit’s helmet features a panoramic, anti-glare visor, in addition to a separate long and short focal length camera.

The suit has a multi-functional integrated control console on the chest.

Chinese state media said the suit draws inspiration from traditional Chinese armor embodying "resilience, strength, and dignity, reflecting the courage and pioneering spirit of the Chinese people."

Adding more feathers to its cap, China's Chang'e-6 mission successfully returned in June, bringing 1,935.3 grams of soil and rocks, the first-ever from the far side of the moon.

In recent weeks, however, there have been a few rocket launch failures.