The team is due to receive systematic training before assisting with the operation of the country's crewed space station, according to Beijing's space authority. The Chinese government started to build its staffed space station in May and aims to complete it in 2022. China has selected its third batch of backup astronauts, 17 men and one woman, for its manned space station programme. China's space authority said in May that the country planned to launch four Shenzhou crewed spaceships to help build the space station. While they did benefit from some assistance from the Soviet Union, China developed its space programme largely on its own.

Source: Daily Mail October 05, 2020 16:28 UTC