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)

Divers swim beside millions of silverside fish at Devil's Grotto, Cayman Islands. Swimming in unison, millions of silverside fish dwarf the divers. The fish create waves of silver light as they move around the grottos that lie beneath the surface of the Caribbean Sea. These amazing photographs were captured by Belgian photographer Ellen Cuylaerts, 44, on a diving trip to the Devil's Grotto, Cayman Islands. (Photo by Ellen Cuylaerts/This is Guavo Media)

Iranian girls wearing face masks walk in Tehran, Iran, 02 November 2020. According to the Iranian Health ministry, Iran reported its highest daily COVID-19 death toll and infections by announcing 440 deaths and 8,289 new infections in past 24 hours in what appears to be a third wave of COVID-19 outbreak. (Photo by Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA/EFE)

A drag queen waves a rainbow flag during an LGBT rights demonstration in front of the Hungarian Parliament building in Budapest, Hungary on June 14, 2021. During the protest human rights activists called on lawmakers in Hungary to reject legislation banning any content portraying or promoting homosexuality or sеx reassignment to anyone under 18. The bills, aiming at fighting pedophilia, have various amendments which would outlaw any depiction or discussion of different gender identities to youth in the public sphere. (Photo by Bela Szandelszky/AP Photo)

In this January 23, 2021, file photo, a police officer detains a young woman during a protest against the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Pushkin square in Moscow, Russia. Allies of Navalny are calling for new protests next weekend to demand his release, following a wave of demonstrations across the country that brought out tens of thousands in a defiant challenge to President Vladimir Putin. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo/File)

Taylor Swift fans wait for the doors of Nilton Santos Olympic stadium to open for her Eras Tour concert amid a heat wave in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, November 18, 2023. A 23-year-old Taylor Swift fan died at the singer's Eras Tour concert in Rio de Janeiro Friday night, according to a statement from the show's organizers in Brazil. (Photo by Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo)

A young woman cools herself in a fountain in Budapest, Hungary July 6, 2015. Over the weekend, a heat wave has reached Hungary with temperatures topping 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit). (Photo by Laszlo Balogh/Reuters)

About a dozen dogs traded in their leashes for life vests Saturday for the chance to ride the waves at Jupiter beach as part of a canine surfing competition to raise money for an animal rescue group. Photo: Musso paddles in with Jengo. (Photo by Taylor Jones/The Palm Beach Post)