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Chinese women in space

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As of 2024, the People's Republic of China has sent three women to space: Liu Yang, Wang Yaping and Wang Haoze all of whom are taikonauts in the People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC). Liu Yang, China's first female taikonaut, first flew in 2012 aboard Shenzhou 9, and since then four additional missions have included female crew members: Shenzhou 10, 13, 14 and 19. According to the China National Space Administration, many women also hold leadership positions in the Chinese space program, and actively contribute to the Chinese space effort.[1]

History

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China launched its first crewed space mission, Shenzhou 5, in 2003, with a single male taikonaut (Yang Liwei) aboard. Following the mission's success, Gu Xiulian, president of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), recommended to the Chinese space program that women should be considered for spaceflight selection. This recommendation was accepted, and was publicly announced in early 2004.[2] Women's integration into the space program necessitated minor changes to the interior design of the Shenzhou spacecraft to accommodate both male and female taikonauts.[2]

Although women were officially allowed to become taikonauts as of 2004, the first Chinese spaceflight with a female crewmember was not launched until 2012.[3] This mission, Shenzhou 9, included taikonaut Liu Yang as Laboratory Assistant, making her the first Chinese woman to fly in space. Shenzhou 9 was launched on 16 June 2012, the 49th launch anniversary of Vostok 6, the first mission to put a woman (Soviet parachutist Valentina Tereshkova) into space.

On 11 June 2013, Shenzhou 10 launched with taikonaut Wang Yaping aboard as Laboratory Assistant, making her the second Chinese woman in space.[4] Wang Yaping became the first Chinese woman to travel to space twice and the first to visit the Tiangong space station in October of 2021, when she launched aboard Shenzhou 13.[5]

Liu Yang would return to space in 2022, flying aboard Shenzhou 14.[6]

In 2024, Lai Ka-ying was the first Hong Kong resident selected for China’s space programme.[7]

Female taikonauts

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Liu Yang

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Liu Yang, the first Chinese woman in space

Liu Yang became the first female Chinese taikonaut in 2012.[8][9] Throughout her astronautical career, Liu has been awarded the title of “Heroic Astronaut” and received the Third-class Space Service Medal for her work abord the Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-14 missions, respectively.[10]

Showing exemplary academic performance in her formative schooling years, Liu’s professors signed her up in 1997 to attend the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Air Force Aviation University in Changchun to become a pilot.[8][11] Liu excelled in her training flying cargo planes and eventually became the Deputy Head of her flying unit.[11] In May 2010, Yang was approached by the PLA’s taikonaut corps with an offer to join.[9]

Liu flew her first mission aboard the Shenzhou-9 in 2012, during which the three-person crew achieved China’s first crewed docking mission by joining with the Tiangong-1 experimental space station.[8][11][12] On this mission, Liu performed the first manual docking of the flight and was in charge of medical experiments throughout the flight’s duration.[10][9] The taikonauts returned 12 days after takeoff.[10]

After returning to Earth, Liu became a representative in the 13th National People’s Congress and the vice president of the All-China Women’s Federation.[10]

Liu returned to space in 2022 aboard the Shenzhou-14, with the goal of staying on the Tiangong space station for six months to oversee the final portions of construction.[10][11]

Wang Yaping

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Wang Yaping, the first Chinese woman to walk in space

Wang Yaping’s space career began in 2013 aboard the Shenzhou-10 where she became the second female taikonaut.[13] During this mission, Wang and her two colleagues successfully docked, undocked, and boarded the Tiangong-1.[13] From the space station, she gave a live-streamed physics lesson to around 80,000 schools, reaching 60 million students and teachers.[13][12] Wang returned to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-10 15 days after takeoff.[13][12]

Wang returned to space on the Shenzhou-13 on 15 October 2021, becoming the first female to live onboard the Tiangong space station.[12] On 8 November 2021, she completed a 6.5 hour spacewalk making her the 16th female astronaut and first female taikonaut to do so.[14] Wang returned to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-13 in April 2022, 182 days after takeoff.[15] Wang and her 2 colleagues set a record for most days in orbit by any Taikonaut.[15]

Wang Haoze

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Wang Haoze at Shenzhou-19 press conference

Wang Haoze was the first Chinese female taikonaut from Group 3. She flew on Shenzhou 19 in October 2024 and is the only female spaceflight engineer.[16]

Obstacles

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According to Jun Lu, Senior Engineer at Beijing Institute of Tracking and Telecommunications Technology and Deputy Chief Designer of BeiDou Grounded Test and Validation System, “[women’s] qualities of being meticulous, dedicated, responsible and their ability to work under high pressure for a long time” allow them to thrive in the field due to the “high risk and long development cycle” of space technology development.[17] However, Chinese taikonaut academies institute more stringent qualifications for female taikonauts than their male counterparts.[18] Due to fears that childbirth and subsequent family obligations would disrupt training for two to three years, taikonaut academies favor women who are married and already have children.[18] Additionally, women are more closely examined for scars, heavy odors, and decayed teeth, as these traits could cause “disaster” in space.[19]

Prior to the launch of Shenzhou 9, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported a former spaceflight official as claiming that marriage was a requirement for all female Chinese astronauts[20] due to concerns that spaceflight could potentially harm women's fertility[21] and also "married women would be more physically and psychologically mature."[22] However, this requirement has been officially denied by the director of the China Astronaut Centre, stating that this is a preference but not a strict limitation.[23]

When interviewing women taikonauts, the media was more interested in their family lives and female physiology than when interviewing male taikonauts.[24] Questions regarding menstruation are often brought up as well.[24]

Pang Zhihao, a Chinese National Space Administration official, claims women taikonauts should also look their best at all times.[24] He revealed that both Tiangong-1 and Tiangong were stocked with hygiene products and cosmetics during Wang Yaping’s missions.[24] In a video broadcast by China Central Television, he declares that "[f]emale astronauts may be in better condition after putting on makeup”.[24]

Non-taikonaut personnel

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A study published in the National Science Review found that women make up a large portion of space engineers working on Chinese missions.[17] The Chinese BeiDou Navigation Satellite System has three Chinese women leading the project as sub-system chief designers, with others filling senior positions such as deputy commanders and deputy chief engineers.[17]

One notable woman working on China’s space program is 24-year-old Zhou Chengyu, the first and youngest female space commander in China.[25] She first began working at the Wenchang site as an operator after she graduated from university at the beginning of 2020 and, by the end of the year, had become the commander of her unit.[25] She worked on the rocket connector system for the Chang’e-5 moon mission, which aimed to collect moon rocks for scientific testing. Chang’e-5 successfully launched in December 2020.[25] Zhou went viral on social media for her accomplishments, with many users calling her a "frontline soldier in the field of aerospace" and a "big sister".[26]

List of Chinese women in space by mission

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Name Mission Date Notes
Liu Yang Shenzhou 9
Shenzhou 14 		2012
2022 		First Chinese woman in space, and first mission to the Tiangong-1 space station
Wang Yaping Shenzhou 10
Shenzhou 13 		2013
2021–2022 		Second Chinese women in space, and second one to the Tiangong-1 space station
First Chinese woman to travel twice to space, first one to the Tiangong space station and first to walk in space
Wang Haoze Shenzhou 19 2024–2025 Third Chinese women in space

Firsts and records

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Updated as of November 8, 2023.

Firsts
First Date Mission Name Notes
First Chinese woman in space 16 June 2012 Shenzhou 9 Liu Yang [27]
First Chinese woman in orbit 16 June 2012 Shenzhou 9 Liu Yang [28]
First Chinese woman aboard a space station 18 June 2012 Shenzhou 9 Liu Yang Liu Yang goes aboard Tiangong-1 space station

[29]

First Chinese woman to spacewalk 7 November 2021 Shenzhou 13 Wang Yaping [30]
First Chinese woman to command a mission N/A N/A none
First Chinese woman to go on multiple missions 15 October 2021 Shenzhou 13 Wang Yaping [30]
Records
Title Data Taikonaut
Longest time in space (single mission) 182 days, 9 hours and 32 minutes (Shenzhou 13) Wang Yaping
Longest time in space (cumulative) 197 days and 1 minute (Shenzhou 10 and Shenzhou 13) Wang Yaping
Shortest time in space (single mission) 12 days, 15 hours and 25 minutes (Shenzhou 9) Liu Yang
Shortest time in space (cumulative) 195 days and 50 minutes (Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 14) Liu Yang
Longest time on EVA (single spacewalk) 6 hours 25 minutes (Shenzhou 13) Wang Yaping
Longest time on EVA (cumulative) 6 hours 25 minutes (Shenzhou 13) Wang Yaping
Shortest time on EVA (single spacewalk) 6 hours 7 minutes (Shenzhou 14) Liu Yang
Shortest time on EVA (cumulative) 6 hours 7 minutes (Shenzhou 14) Liu Yang
Most space missions 2 missions Wang Yaping
Liu Yang

See also

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ "System". en.beidou.gov.cn. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b "China recruiting women for space travel - UPI.com". UPI. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  3. ^ Jiang, Steven; FlorCruz, Jaime (15 June 2012). "China prepares for launch, names female astronaut". CNN News. Archived from the original on 21 May 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Shenzhou-10: China's longest crewed space mission". CNN. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  5. ^ Gray, Tyler (16 April 2022). "Shenzhou-13 mission ends with safe return of Chinese taikonaut trio". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  6. ^ Jones, Andrew (4 December 2022). "China's Shenzhou 14 astronauts return to Earth after helping build Tiangong space station". Space.com. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  7. ^ Tse, Hans (12 June 2024). "Police inspector is first Hong Kong resident selected for China's space programme – reports". Hong Kong Free Press.
  8. ^ a b c "新华视点：聚焦中国首位"女太空人"刘洋". www.gov.cn. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  9. ^ a b c Byrne, Robin (October 2018). "Happy Birthday Liu Yang" (PDF). The Eclipse. pp. 3–4.
  10. ^ a b c d e "China's first woman in space returns as part of Shenzhou 14 mission". South China Morning Post. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  11. ^ a b c d "Liu Yang | Biography, Spaceflights, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d "Women's History Month 2023: Celebrating Women Astronauts - NASA". 1 March 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d "China Prepares for Future Exploration as Shenzhou-10 Mission Ends - AmericaSpace". www.americaspace.com. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  14. ^ Yeung, Jessie (8 November 2021). "Wang Yaping becomes first Chinese woman to complete spacewalk". CNN. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  15. ^ a b Jones, Andrew (16 April 2022). "Shenzhou-13 astronauts return to Earth after 182-day mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  16. ^ "神十九乘组王浩泽，本硕毕业于东南大学，系我国目前唯一的女航天飞行工程师" [Wang Haoze, a member of the Shenzhou 19 crew, graduated from Southeast University with a bachelor's and master's degree. She is currently the only female aerospace flight engineer in my country.]. Xinhua News Agency (in Chinese). 29 October 2024. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  17. ^ a b c Gu, Chao (8 October 2021). "Women Scientists in China: Current Status and Aspirations". National Science Review. 8 (10): nwab101. doi:10.1093/nsr/nwab101. PMC 8566168. PMID 34858614.
  18. ^ a b "新华视点：聚焦中国首位"女太空人"刘洋". www.gov.cn. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  19. ^ "Want to be a female taikonaut in China? You better smell good, and no scars". The Globe and Mail. 11 June 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  20. ^ Moskowitz, Clara (15 June 2012). "China Unveils Astronaut Crew, 1st Female Spaceflyer, for Saturday Launch". Space.com. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  21. ^ Brenhouse, Hillary (25 March 2010). "China's Female Astronauts: Must Be a Married Mom". Time.
  22. ^ Malik, Tariq (10 March 2010). "Just One Hitch in Choosing China's First Women Astronauts". Space.com. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  23. ^ "Exclusive interview: Astronauts selection process". CCTV News. CNTV. 16 June 2012. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  24. ^ a b c d e Myers, Steven Lee (25 October 2021). "中国女航天员：在太空打破天花板，在地面面临性别歧视". 纽约时报中文网 (in Chinese). Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  25. ^ a b c "China's youngest Chang'e 5 mission commander". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  26. ^ "The woman behind China's Chang'e-5 Moon mission". BBC News. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  27. ^ Srinivas Laxman (16 June 2012). "Shenzhou-9 Launches into Space With China's First Woman Astronaut". Asian Scientist.
  28. ^ Jason Davis (16 June 2012). "Shenzhou-9 reaches orbit". Planetary Society.
  29. ^ Jonathan Amos (18 June 2012). "Shenzhou-9 docks with Tiangong-1". BBC News.
  30. ^ a b "China unveils Shenzhou 13 crew for next mission to Tiangong space station". South China Morning Post. 14 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.

Sources

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