A year in orbit changes everything about how the equipment performs
Em uma noite de domingo de maio, a China enviou três astronautas ao encontro da estação espacial Tiangong, inaugurando a primeira missão orbital de um ano na história do programa espacial chinês. A bordo seguia Li Jiaying, a primeira astronauta nascida em Hong Kong, símbolo de um programa que se expande tanto em alcance territorial quanto em ambição técnica. O que parece uma missão científica é, na verdade, um ensaio fisiológico e sistémico para algo muito maior: pousar seres humanos na Lua antes de 2030. A humanidade volta a medir o tempo em órbita — desta vez, com um novo relógio a marcar o passo.
- A China lançou a Shenzhou-23 com três astronautas rumo à Tiangong, incluindo a primeira astronauta de Hong Kong, Li Jiaying, numa missão que estabelece um novo marco de duração orbital para o país.
- Um dos tripulantes permanecerá em órbita durante um ano completo — uma aposta inédita que vai testar os limites do corpo humano e dos sistemas de suporte de vida em condições de microgravidade prolongada.
- A missão carrega urgência estratégica: os dados recolhidos sobre perda óssea, atrofia muscular e resistência psicológica são indispensáveis para preparar astronautas para a viagem à Lua, prevista para antes de 2030.
- A corrida espacial do século XXI ganha novo contorno — enquanto os EUA avançam com o programa Artemis, a China testa a nave Mengzhou e planeia uma base lunar permanente operacional em 2035.
- O lançamento posiciona a China não como seguidora de um caminho já traçado, mas como potência espacial a definir a sua própria trajectória — com a chegada do primeiro astronauta estrangeiro à Tiangong prevista ainda para 2026.
Numa noite de domingo de finais de maio, um foguetão Longa Marcha ergueu-se do centro de lançamento de Jiuquan, na Mongólia Interior, transportando três astronautas em direcção à estação espacial Tiangong. A bordo seguiam Li Jiaying, engenheira de informática forense de 43 anos e primeira astronauta nascida em Hong Kong; Zhu Yangzhu, comandante da missão com 39 anos; e Zhang Zhiyuan, ex-piloto da força aérea, também com 39 anos. A presença de Li tinha um peso simbólico considerável, representando a expansão do programa espacial chinês a todas as suas populações e territórios.
A missão Shenzhou-23 distingue-se de todas as anteriores por uma razão central: um dos três tripulantes permanecerá em órbita durante um ano completo, uma duração nunca antes tentada pela China. Esta não é uma proeza simbólica — é uma necessidade científica. Para enviar humanos à Lua, a China precisa de compreender o que doze meses de microgravidade fazem ao corpo: a perda de massa óssea, a atrofia muscular, a exposição à radiação, o desgaste psicológico. Esses dados determinarão se os astronautas conseguem sobreviver à viagem lunar e regressar.
O astrofísico Richard de Grijs, da Universidade Macquarie, na Austrália, sublinhou que a duração muda tudo. Missões de semanas ou meses são diferentes de um ano em órbita, que vai testar ao limite os sistemas de reciclagem de água, regeneração de ar e capacidade de resposta a emergências médicas a milhares de quilómetros da Terra.
Esta missão insere-se numa estratégia mais ampla. A China fixou 2030 como prazo para pousar humanos na Lua — o mesmo objectivo do programa Artemis dos Estados Unidos. Para isso, desenvolve a nave Mengzhou, com voo de teste orbital previsto para 2026, e planeia uma base lunar permanente com a primeira fase operacional em 2035. Até ao final de 2026, a Tiangong receberá ainda o seu primeiro astronauta estrangeiro, um cidadão paquistanês. O lançamento da Shenzhou-23 é mais um degrau nessa escada — a demonstração de que a China não segue caminhos alheios, mas traça o seu próprio rumo até à Lua.
On a Sunday evening in late May, a Long March rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan launch site in northwestern China's Inner Mongolia, carrying three astronauts toward the Tiangong space station. The launch marked a threshold moment for China's space ambitions: one crew member would remain in orbit for a full year, a duration that had never been attempted before on a Chinese mission. The rocket climbed into the night sky at 11:08 p.m. local time, beginning a journey that would test both human physiology and the nation's technical readiness for something far larger—a crewed landing on the Moon within four years.
The three aboard were Li Jiaying, a 43-year-old computer forensics specialist who had worked for Hong Kong's police force; Zhu Yangzhu, a 39-year-old space engineer commanding the mission; and Zhang Zhiyuan, also 39, a former air force pilot. Li's presence carried symbolic weight: she was the first astronaut ever launched from Hong Kong, a distinction that underscored how China's space program had expanded its reach across its territories and populations. Her role on the station would be to operate complex equipment and conduct the scientific experiments the mission had been designed to perform.
Those experiments spanned multiple disciplines—life sciences, materials research, fluid physics, and medical studies. But the true purpose of Shenzhou-23 lay elsewhere. One of the three would be selected, based on how the mission unfolded, to remain aboard the Tiangong for twelve months straight. This extended stay was not a stunt. It was essential preparation. China needed to understand what a year in microgravity did to the human body and to the systems that kept humans alive in space. The bone density loss, the muscle atrophy, the radiation exposure, the sleep disruption, the psychological strain—these were not abstract concerns. They were the obstacles that would determine whether astronauts could survive the journey to the Moon and back.
Richard de Grijs, an astrophysicist at Australia's Macquarie University, outlined the stakes in an interview with the French news agency. The challenges were fundamentally about human endurance: how bodies degrade in weightlessness, how minds respond to isolation, how equipment performs when pushed beyond its normal operational envelope. China's space program had become sophisticated in these areas, de Grijs noted, but duration changed everything. The Shenzhou missions that had come before were shorter, measured in weeks or months. A year was different. It would stress-test the water recycling systems, the air regeneration equipment, the ability to handle a medical emergency thousands of kilometers from Earth.
This mission was the visible piece of a larger strategy. China had set itself a deadline of 2030 to land humans on the Moon—the same target the United States was pursuing through its Artemis program. To reach that goal, China was developing the Mengzhou spacecraft, the vessel that would carry astronauts to the lunar surface. That craft was scheduled for an orbital test flight in 2026. Beyond that lay even more ambitious plans: a permanent lunar research base, the International Lunar Research Station, with its first phase operational by 2035. The year-long mission aboard Tiangong was a necessary rung on that ladder.
China's space program had transformed dramatically over three decades, narrowing a once-vast gap with the United States, Russia, and Europe. The progress had accelerated in the past ten years, visible in the sophistication of each new mission. By the end of 2026, the Tiangong would receive its first foreign astronaut—a Pakistani national—a gesture that signaled China's confidence in its capabilities and its desire to position itself as a spacefaring power open to international collaboration. The launch of Shenzhou-23 was one more step in that arc, a demonstration that China was not simply following the path others had laid. It was charting its own course to the Moon.
Citas Notables
The main challenges are the effects on the human body—bone density loss, muscle atrophy, radiation exposure, sleep disruption, and psychological strain— Richard de Grijs, astrophysicist at Macquarie University
China has become very competent in these areas, but duration is important. A year in orbit puts the equipment and crew in a different operational regime than shorter Shenzhou missions— Richard de Grijs
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does it matter that one person stays up there for a full year instead of the usual six months?
Because the Moon is far. You can't get there and back in weeks. If China wants to land people there by 2030, it needs to know what happens to a human body and mind when you're weightless for that long. Six months teaches you one thing. Twelve months teaches you something different—something essential.
What are the actual dangers? What breaks down?
Everything, slowly. Your bones lose density. Your muscles atrophy even if you exercise constantly. You're exposed to radiation without Earth's magnetic field protecting you. Your sleep gets disrupted. And psychologically, you're isolated in a way most people have never experienced. The Chinese need real data on all of it.
Why is Li Jiaying's presence significant beyond the symbolic?
She's the first person from Hong Kong to go to space. But more than that, she's a computer forensics expert—someone trained to work with complex systems and extract meaning from data. On the station, she'll be operating sophisticated equipment and running experiments. Her background matters for what she can actually do up there.
Is China really competitive with the United States on this?
They're on the same timeline now. Both targeting 2030 for crewed lunar landings. The Americans have Artemis. China has its own program with its own spacecraft in development. The difference is China is building a permanent base afterward—the International Lunar Research Station. They're thinking beyond the landing.
What happens if something goes wrong during that year in orbit?
That's exactly what worries the experts. Medical emergencies, equipment failures, psychological crises—all of it happens far from Earth with no quick rescue option. The systems for recycling water and air have to be bulletproof. China has gotten very good at this, but a year is a different test than anything they've run before.
So this mission is really about the Moon, not about the space station itself?
Exactly. The Tiangong is the laboratory. The year-long stay is the experiment. Everything they learn goes into the design of the lunar missions. It's a stepping stone, not a destination.