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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
History
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.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" />
Although women were officially allowed to become taikonauts as of 2004, the first Chinese spaceflight with a female crewmember was not launched until 2012.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Liu Yang would return to space in 2022, flying aboard Shenzhou 14.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2024, Lai Ka-ying was the first Hong Kong resident selected for China's space programme.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Female taikonauts
Liu Yang
Liu Yang became the first female Chinese taikonaut in 2012.<ref name=":24">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":9">Template:Cite news</ref> Throughout her astronautical career, Liu has been awarded the title of "Heroic Astronaut" and received the Third-class Space Service Medal for her work aboard the Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-14 missions, respectively.<ref name=":10">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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.<ref name=":24" /><ref name=":11">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Liu excelled in her training flying cargo planes and eventually became the Deputy Head of her flying unit.<ref name=":11" /> In May 2010, Yang was approached by the PLA's taikonaut corps with an offer to join.<ref name=":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.<ref name=":24" /><ref name=":11" /><ref name=":52">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On this mission, Liu performed the first manual docking of the flight and was in charge of medical experiments throughout the flight's duration.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":9" /> The taikonauts returned 12 days after takeoff.<ref name=":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.<ref name=":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.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":11" />
Wang Yaping
Wang Yaping's space career began in 2013 aboard the Shenzhou-10 where she became the second female taikonaut.<ref name=":4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During this mission, Wang and her two colleagues successfully docked, undocked, and boarded the Tiangong-1.<ref name=":4" /> From the space station, she gave a live-streamed physics lesson to around 80,000 schools, reaching 60 million students and teachers.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":52" /> Wang returned to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-10 15 days after takeoff.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":52" />
Wang returned to space on the Shenzhou-13 on 15 October 2021, becoming the first female to live onboard the Tiangong space station.<ref name=":52" /> On 8 November 2021, she completed a 6.5 hour spacewalk making her the 16th female astronaut and first female taikonaut to do so.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Wang returned to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-13 in April 2022, 182 days after takeoff.<ref name=":7">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Wang and her 2 colleagues set a record for most days in orbit by any Taikonaut.<ref name=":7" />
Wang Haoze
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.<ref name="j906">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She was also the first female taikonaut of Manchu ethnicity on space.
Obstacles
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.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite journal</ref> However, Chinese taikonaut academies institute more stringent qualifications for female taikonauts than their male counterparts.<ref name=":22">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name=":22" /> Additionally, women are more closely examined for scars, heavy odors, and decayed teeth, as these traits could cause "disaster" in space.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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<ref name="Space-Unveil">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> due to concerns that spaceflight could potentially harm women's fertility<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and also "married women would be more physically and psychologically mature."<ref name="Space-OneHitch">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Wu Bin interview">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
When interviewing women taikonauts, the media was more interested in their family lives and female physiology than when interviewing male taikonauts.<ref name=":02">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Questions regarding menstruation are often brought up as well.<ref name=":02" />
Pang Zhihao, a Chinese National Space Administration official, claims women taikonauts should also look their best at all times.<ref name=":02" /> He revealed that both Tiangong-1 and Tiangong were stocked with hygiene products and cosmetics during Wang Yaping's missions.<ref name=":02" /> In a video broadcast by China Central Television, he declares that "[f]emale astronauts may be in better condition after putting on makeup".<ref name=":02" />
Non-taikonaut personnel
A study published in the National Science Review found that women make up a large portion of space engineers working on Chinese missions.<ref name=":3" /> 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.<ref name=":3" />
One notable woman working on China's space program is 24-year-old Zhou Chengyu, the first and youngest female space commander in China.<ref name=":23">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name=":23" /> 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.<ref name=":23" /> 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".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
List of Chinese women in space by mission
| 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
Updated as of November 8, 2023.
| First | Date | Mission | Name | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Chinese woman in space | 16 June 2012 | Shenzhou 9 | Liu Yang | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| First Chinese woman in orbit | 16 June 2012 | Shenzhou 9 | Liu Yang | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| First Chinese woman aboard a space station | 18 June 2012 | Shenzhou 9 | Liu Yang | Liu Yang goes aboard Tiangong-1 space station
<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| First Chinese woman to spacewalk | 7 November 2021 | Shenzhou 13 | Wang Yaping | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| 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 | <ref name=SCMP/> |
| 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
- People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps
- List of Chinese astronauts
- List of women astronauts
- Women in space