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Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
World

China to send first civilian astronaut to space station

The Shenzhou-16 mission is due to blast off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China. (Photo: AFP)

JIUQUAN (CHINA) - China will send three astronauts to its Tiangong space station on Tuesday, putting a civilian scientist into space for the first time as Beijing pursues plans to send a manned mission to the Moon by the end of the decade.

The world's second-largest economy has invested billions of dollars in its military-run space programme, trying to catch up with the United States and Russia.

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