New space mission kicks off

Have a safe journey: People cheering on the astronauts at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi desert, in northwest China. — AFP

Jiuquan: China sent a fresh crew to its Tiangong space station in the latest mission for a growing space programme that plans to send people to the Moon by 2030.

The Shenzhou-17 blasted off from the Jiuquan launch site in northwest China at 11.14am yesterday, carrying a three-astronaut team with the youngest average age since the space station’s construction.