China sends female astronaut into space for the first time 0:56
Hong Kong (CNN) -
The first woman assigned to work on China's new space station will be on board when the Shenzhou-13 spacecraft lifts off early Saturday local time, in what will be a historic moment for astronauts and the the country's rapidly expanding space program.
Wang Yaping, 41, is part of a three-member team heading to the Tiangong space station, or Heavenly Palace, where she is expected to become the first Chinese woman to go on a spacewalk.
International Space Station vs.
Chinese space station: here's what each one has
China's goal of completing the station and having its full crew by December 2022 is ambitious, but appears to be on track.
Last month, three other Chinese astronauts successfully completed a three-month stay on board, during which they worked in the station's central module and conducted two spacewalks to install equipment.
Chinese astronaut Wang Yaping attends a press conference the day before the launch at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi desert on October 14.
This time, Wang's team will stay 183 days, the longest period in space for Chinese astronauts.
She will be accompanied by mission commander Zhai Zhigang, 55, and Ye Guangfu, 41.
Its spacecraft is scheduled to take off from the Gobi Desert in northwest China at 12:23 a.m. Beijing time on Saturday (12:23 p.m. ET Friday), the China Manned Space Program said on Thursday.
Preparations for your stay take a long time.
Last month, a cargo ship delivered 6 metric tons of food, water, oxygen bottles, spacesuits and other necessities to the station.
advertising
It will be the second space mission for Wang, a major in the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force and a transport plane pilot who was recruited as an aspiring astronaut in 2010.
In 2013, it spent 15 days in orbit with the Shenzhou-10 mission.
From a test space station module, he gave a science lecture to 60 million students across China, showing them the surface tension of liquids in space, performing kung fu moves and answering questions.
This is how the assembly of the Chinese space station progresses 1:06
In an interview with CNN in 2015, Wang recounted the first moment he looked at Earth from space.
"When I looked out the window for the first time, I realized the true meaning of the power of life ... that kind of beauty was beyond comprehension," he said.
According to Wang, a manned space program without female astronauts would be incomplete.
"It's like the role of women in the family. Women have responsibilities. We also make serious missions more lively and enjoyable," she said.
And female crew members bring a practical benefit, too, Wang added. "Female astronauts weigh less (than men) and that's cheaper for the mission."
Wang is China's second woman in space, after fellow astronaut Liu Yang.
In 2012, Liu made history by joining a crew of three on the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft, a milestone celebrated by women across China.
Liu's space mission came 49 years after the Soviet Union took Valentina Tereshkova into space, making her the world's first female astronaut in outer space.
First woman on the Moon in 2024 0:33
Astronauts have come a long way since Tereshkova made that first trip.
According to NASA, as of March this year, 65 women have flown into space, including cosmonauts, astronauts, payload specialists, and space station participants.
In 1983, astronaut and physicist Sally Ride became the first American woman in space, but back then, the male-dominated space industry seemed clueless about the needs of women.
As Ride prepared for his trip on the STS-7 space shuttle, NASA engineers asked him how many tampons he might need during a week in orbit.
"Is 100 the correct number?" Ride recalled being asked, according to a 2012 NASA oral history project transcript.
In a concise answer, he suggested that they cut that estimate in half.
Varsha Jain, a gynecologist and researcher at Kings College London, previously told CNN that while most systems in the human body are severely affected during spaceflight, the female menstrual cycle does not appear to change at all.
Their research found that most female astronauts choose to use birth control and suspend their periods, both in preparation for and during spaceflight.
For missions lasting a few weeks, astronauts can use oral contraceptives to time their cycles accordingly.
But Jain said no research has been done on long-term use of contraceptives in space, for missions lasting months or even years.
According to Chinese state media, the supplies sent to the Tiangong space station included 60 bottles of toner, 30 bottles of serum and 30 bottles of face cream, as well as feminine hygiene products, all specially prepared for Wang.
Astronauts