China has launched its latest manned space mission - whose crew includes its first civilian astronaut, Gui Haichao.

China has sent three astronauts to its Tiangong Space Station. The Shenzhou-16 mission took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi desert in the country’s northwest.

Shenzhou-16: A Milestone in China’s Space Exploration
Shenzhou-16 spacecraft was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi desert in the China’s northwest. 

The First Civilian Astronaut
Gui Haichao, one of the astronauts on the Shenzhou-16 mission, holds a significant position as the first Chinese civilian astronaut to be put into orbit.

Professor at Beihang University with a postdoctoral background in Canada, Gui will contribute to operating payloads for space experiments during his time aboard the space station.

Key Takeaways

• The crew lifted off in the Shenzhou-16 spacecraft from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert in north-west China.
• After the US and the Soviet Union China is only the third country in history to have put both astronauts into space and to build a space station.
• China has already sent an unmanned mission to the Moon, called Chang'e 5