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)

A Ukrainian MSLR BM-21 “Grad” fires towards Russian positions, near Bakhmut at the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, June 21, 2023. (Photo by Iryna Rybakova via AP Photo)

Revellers wearing lanterns parade through the streets during the carnival procession of Basel, Switzerland, 15 February 2016. The traditional Morgestraich starting Monday morning after Ash Wednesday at 4 a.m. marks the kick-off of the Carnival of Basel. (Photo by Patrick Seeger/EPA)

Law enforcement carry a pro-Palestinian protester at the University of Texas, during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Austin, Texas on April 24, 2024. (Photo by Nuri Vallbona/Reuters)

A woman reacts after she was hit with pepper spray deployed by police as they cleared a street with protesters rallying against a new national security law in Hong Kong on July 1, 2020, on the 23rd anniversary of the city's handover from Britain to China. A man found in possession of a Hong Kong independence flag became the first person to be arrested under Beijing's new national security law for the city, police said on July 1. (Photo by Dale De La Rey/AFP Photo)

A young Sandinista guerrilla takes aim with his 45 pistol as he stands waiting to do combat with the Nicaraguan National Guard in Managua June 23, 1979. The guerrillas still occupy major parts of the Capitol City. (Photo by McLendon/AP Photo)

A Muslim worshipper attends a mass prayer against COVID-19, the new coronavirus, in Dakar on March 4, 2020, after two cases were confirmed in Senegal in the previous days. Across the world, 3,155 people have died from the virus. More than 92,723 have been infected in 78 countries and territories, according to AFP's latest toll based on official sources at 1700 GMT on March 3, 2020. (Photo by John Wessels/AFP Photo)

An image from House Television shows Republican John Rose speaking on the floor of the House of Representatives as his son Guy makes a face in Washington DC, US on June 4, 2024. (Photo by AP Photo)