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China launches new crew to its space station as it seeks to expand exploration

China launches new crew to its space station as it seeks to expand exploration | iNFOnews.ca
Chinese astronauts Wang Haoze, from left, Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong wave as they attend the see-off ceremony for the Shenzhou-19 mission at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, in the early hours of Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

JIUQUAN, China (AP) — China launched a new three-person crew to its orbiting space station early Wednesday as the country seeks to expand its exploration of outer space.

The team of two men and one woman traveling on the Shenzhou-19 spaceship will replace the astronauts who have lived on the Tiangong space station for the last six months. They are expected to stay until April or May of next year.

The new mission commander, Cai Xuzhe, went to space in the Shenzhou-14 mission in 2022, while the other two, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, are first-time space travelers, born in the 1990s.

China launches new crew to its space station as it seeks to expand exploration | iNFOnews.ca
Chinese astronauts Wang Haoze, from left, Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong wave as they prepare to depart on the Shenzhou-19 mission at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, in the early hours of Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
China launches new crew to its space station as it seeks to expand exploration | iNFOnews.ca
Chinese astronauts Wang Haoze, from left, Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong salute as they attend the see-off ceremony for the Shenzhou-19 mission at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, in the early hours of Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
China launches new crew to its space station as it seeks to expand exploration | iNFOnews.ca
Chinese astronauts Wang Haoze, from left, Song Lingdong and Cai Xuzhe wave during the see-off ceremony for the Shenzhou-19 mission at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, in the early hours of Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
China launches new crew to its space station as it seeks to expand exploration | iNFOnews.ca
Chinese astronauts Wang Haoze, from left, Song Lingdong and Cai Xuzhe wave during the see-off ceremony for the Shenzhou-19 mission at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, in the early hours of Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
China launches new crew to its space station as it seeks to expand exploration | iNFOnews.ca
Chinese astronauts Wang Haoze, from left, Song Lingdong and Cai Xuzhe wave during the see-off ceremony for the Shenzhou-19 mission at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, in the early hours of Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
China launches new crew to its space station as it seeks to expand exploration | iNFOnews.ca
Chinese astronauts Wang Haoze, from left, Song Lingdong and Cai Xuzhe wave during the see-off ceremony for the Shenzhou-19 mission at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, in the early hours of Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

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The Associated Press

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