China Prepares to Send First Civilian into Space 

A member of People's Liberation Army (PLA) runs on the site of Shenzhou-16 manned space flight mission on the eve of launching in Jiuquan, Gansu province, China, 29 May 2023. (EPA)
A member of People's Liberation Army (PLA) runs on the site of Shenzhou-16 manned space flight mission on the eve of launching in Jiuquan, Gansu province, China, 29 May 2023. (EPA)
TT

China Prepares to Send First Civilian into Space 

A member of People's Liberation Army (PLA) runs on the site of Shenzhou-16 manned space flight mission on the eve of launching in Jiuquan, Gansu province, China, 29 May 2023. (EPA)
A member of People's Liberation Army (PLA) runs on the site of Shenzhou-16 manned space flight mission on the eve of launching in Jiuquan, Gansu province, China, 29 May 2023. (EPA)

China will send its first civilian astronaut into space as part of a crewed mission to the Tiangong space station on Tuesday as it pursues its ambitious plans for a manned lunar landing by 2030.

The world's second-largest economy has invested billions of dollars in its military-run space program, trying to catch up with the United States and Russia after years of belatedly matching their milestones.

Until now, all Chinese astronauts sent into space have been part of the People's Liberation Army.

Gui Haichao is a professor at Beijing's Beihang University, and will manage scientific experiments on the station during the mission, China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) spokesperson Lin Xiqiang told reporters on Monday.

His mission will "carry out large-scale, in-orbit experiments... in the study of novel quantum phenomena, high-precision space time-frequency systems, the verification of general relativity, and the origin of life," Lin said.

"I've always had this dream," Gui told a press conference on Monday.

His university said he hailed from an "ordinary family" in the southwest province of Yunnan.

He had "first felt the attraction of aerospace" listening to the news of China's first man in space, Yang Liwei, on campus radio in 2003, the institution said in a post on social media.

Gui's addition is "particularly significant", independent analyst Chen Lan told AFP, given previous missions only carried astronauts trained as pilots responsible for more technical tasks and not specialist scientists.

"It means that, from this mission on, China will open the door to space for ordinary people," he said.

Gui is set to take off onboard the Shenzhou-16 spacecraft from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Tuesday at 9:31 am (0131 GMT), the CMSA said.

The commander is Jing Haipeng -- on his fourth mission into space, according to state media -- and the third crew member is engineer Zhu Yangzhu.

Jing said he hadn't gone home for nearly four years because of fears travel could disrupt his training.

"As astronauts going into space... our main responsibility and mission is striving for glory for our country," he said at a press conference on Monday.

The three will stay in Earth's orbit for around five months.

'Space dream'

Under President Xi Jinping, plans for China's "space dream" have been put into overdrive.

China is planning to build a base on the Moon, and CMSA spokesman Lin on Monday reaffirmed Beijing's plan to land a manned mission there by 2030.

"The overall goal is to achieve China's first manned landing on the Moon by 2030 and carry out lunar scientific exploration and related technological experiments," he said.

The final module of the T-shaped Tiangong -- whose name means "heavenly palace" -- successfully docked with the core structure last year.

The station carries a number of pieces of cutting-edge scientific equipment, state news agency Xinhua reported, including "the world's first space-based cold atomic clock system".

The Tiangong is expected to remain in low Earth orbit at between 400 and 450 kilometers (250 and 280 miles) above the planet for at least 10 years.

It is constantly crewed by rotating teams of three astronauts.

While China does not plan to use Tiangong for global cooperation on the scale of the International Space Station, Beijing has said it is open to foreign collaboration.

China "is looking forward to and welcomes the participation of foreign astronauts in the country's space station flight missions," Lin said Monday.

China has been effectively excluded from the International Space Station since 2011, when the United States banned NASA from engaging with the country.



Reports: Helmsman of Cargo Ship Run Aground in Norway Was Likely Asleep

 Johan Helberg stands next to his house, with the container ship NCL Salten in the background, after the 135-meter-long ship ran aground in the Trondheimsfjord, outside Byneset, in Trondheim, Norway, Thursday May 22, 2025. (Jan Langhaug/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Johan Helberg stands next to his house, with the container ship NCL Salten in the background, after the 135-meter-long ship ran aground in the Trondheimsfjord, outside Byneset, in Trondheim, Norway, Thursday May 22, 2025. (Jan Langhaug/NTB Scanpix via AP)
TT

Reports: Helmsman of Cargo Ship Run Aground in Norway Was Likely Asleep

 Johan Helberg stands next to his house, with the container ship NCL Salten in the background, after the 135-meter-long ship ran aground in the Trondheimsfjord, outside Byneset, in Trondheim, Norway, Thursday May 22, 2025. (Jan Langhaug/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Johan Helberg stands next to his house, with the container ship NCL Salten in the background, after the 135-meter-long ship ran aground in the Trondheimsfjord, outside Byneset, in Trondheim, Norway, Thursday May 22, 2025. (Jan Langhaug/NTB Scanpix via AP)

The helmsman of a huge container ship that ran aground in Norway just a stone's throw away from a cabin as its owner slept was probably asleep as well at the time of the accident, Norwegian media reported Friday.

"Only one person was on the bridge at the time. He was steering the vessel, but didn't change course when entering the Trondheim fjord as he should have," the news agency NTB reported.

"Police have received information from others who were on board that he was asleep," police official Kjetil Bruland Sorensen told NTB.

The 135-metre (443-foot) NCL Salten sailed up onto shore just meters from Johan Helberg's wooden cabin around dawn on Thursday.

Helberg discovered the unexpected visitor only when a panicked neighbor who had rung his doorbell repeatedly to no avail gave up and called him on the phone.

"The doorbell rang at a time of day when I don't like to open," Helberg told television channel TV2.

His neighbor, Jostein Jorgensen, said he was roused at around 5:00 am by the sound of a ship heading at full speed toward land and immediately ran to Helberg's house.

None of the cargo's 16 crew members were injured, and Norwegian police have opened an investigation.

"We are aware of the police stating that they have one suspect, and we continue to assist the police and authorities in their ongoing investigation," the NCL shipping group said Friday.

"We are also conducting internal inquiries but prefer not to speculate further," it added.

Efforts to refloat the ship have failed so far, and the massive red and green container ship remained stuck, looming over the small cabin.