A Ukrainian servicewoman walks at a position, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Luhansk Region, Ukraine on April 26, 2022. (Photo by Serhii Nuzhnenko/Reuters)

Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Serhiy Nayev holds puppies as he visits at positions near the border with Belarus, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zhytomyr region, Ukraine on September 20, 2023. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

China has sent its first woman into space on a mission to dock with an orbiting station, the latest step in an ambitious programme to go to the moon and on to Mars.

Photo: China's first female astronaut Liu Yang, waves during a sending off ceremony before she departs for the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft rocket launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, China, Saturday, June 16, 2012. China will send its first woman and two other astronauts into space Saturday to work on a temporary space station for about a week, in a key step toward becoming only the third nation to set up a permanent base in orbit. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

This handout picture taken by Pleiades satellite and released on September 27, 2013 shows a small island of mud and rock created by the huge earthquake that hit southwest Pakistan has fascinated locals but experts – who found methane gas rising from it – say it is unlikely to last long. The 7.7-magnitude quake struck on September 25 in Baluchistan's remote Awaran district, killing at least 271 people and affecting hundreds of thousands. The island is about 60 to 70 feet (18 to 21 metres) high, up to 300 feet wide and up to 120 feet long and sits about 650 feet from the coast. (Photo by AFP Photo/CNES/Distribution Astrium Services)

The Hubble Space Telescope is shown following its release from the space shuttle Discovery Wednesday, February 19, 1997. The Hubble Space Telescope, one of NASA'S crowning glories, marks its 25th anniversary on Friday, April 24, 2015. With more than 1 million observations, including those of the farthest and oldest galaxies ever beholden by humanity, no man-made satellite has touched as many minds or hearts as Hubble. (Photo by AP Photo/NASA)

A supporter of the team of Ukraine cheers prior to the Euro 2016 Group C soccer match between Ukraine and Poland at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, France, Tuesday, June 21, 2016. (Photo by Thanassis Stavrakis/AP Photo)

Ukrainian artillery fires towards the frontline during heavy fighting amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near Bakhmut, Ukraine on April 13, 2023. (Photo by Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)

Ukrainian service members walk to an armoured personnel carrier outside of the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine on May 23, 2023. (Photo by Yevhenii Zavhorodnii/Reuters)