Starry-eyed astronaut to join fresh Tiangong crew

China will send a fresh crew to its Tiangong space station tonight, Beijing's Manned Space Agency announced, the latest mission in a program that aims to send astronauts to the moon by 2030.

The Shenzhou-18 mission - crewed by three astronauts - is scheduled to take off at 8.59pm from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

It will be led by Ye Guangfu, a fighter pilot and astronaut, who was previously part of the Shenzhou-13 crew. He will be joined by Li Cong and Li Guangsu, who are heading into space for the first time.

Commander Ye described the launch as a "new beginning."

Li Guangsu, in turn, said he wanted to take a "good look at the beautiful blue planet, the splendid mountains and rivers of the motherland, and find the places that have nurtured me along the way.

"I also want to see for my lovely child if the stars in the sky can really twinkle or not."

The latest batch of Tiangong astronauts will stay in orbit for six months, carrying out experiments in gravity and physics, as well as in life sciences.

They will also carry out a "project on high-resolution global greenhouse gas detection," deputy director general of the CMSA Lin Xiqiang said.

"They will work with other active astronauts to carry out the follow-up space station missions and to realize the country's manned lunar landing."

The Tiangong is the crown jewel of a space program that has landed robotic rovers on Mars and the moon, and made China the third country to independently put humans in orbit. It is constantly crewed by rotating teams of three astronauts. The new crew will replace the Shenzhou-17 team.