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)

People in a variety of colorful costumes participate in the 43rd annual Mermaid Parade at Coney Island on June 21, 2025 in New York City. The annual Mermaid Parade marks the beginning of summer in NYC and pays tribute to Coney Island’s Mardi Gras celebrations in the early 1900’s. (Photo by Craig T. Fruchtman/Getty Images)

A dog wearing ski goggles rides on the back of a man as they both stand in Times Square in New York, USA on January 25, 2021. (Photo by John Angelillo/UPI/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Arizona Cardinals cheerleader Claire Thorton, center, smiles as Air Force Capt. Eric Straub proposes to her during the first half of an NFL football game against the Washington Redskins, Sunday, October 12, 2014, in Glendale, Ariz. Thorton accepted the proposal. (Photo by Rick Scuteri/AP Photo)

Olympe, the latest creation by artist Aspencrow, is unveiled at JD Malat gallery in London, England on March 27, 2019. It is a sculpture of Cara Delevingne based on the Greek mythological monster Medusa. (Photo by Anthony Harvey/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

An injured person reacts during a protest against the new government of President Manuel Merino, in San Martin de Lima square, in Lima, Peru, 14 November 2020. Merino took office on 10 November amid a controversial constitutional process after the dismissal of former President Martin Vizcarra for “moral incapacity” by Peruvian Congress. (Photo by Aldair Mejia/EPA/EFE)

A long skater speeds away on the rain-wet ice on lake Orlangen, South of Stockholm on December 15, 2013. Meteorologists forecast temperatures around 5 degrees for southern Sweden. (Photo by Tobias Rostlund/AFP Photo)

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An air raid drill at Seattle College caught students William Bates, left, and Edna Mae Farrell, right, while they were eating their lunch in the school café, but they simply took shelter under the table and continued eating in Seattle, Washington, March 17, 1942. Air raid wardens said 350 students left their classrooms and assembled in shelters within one minute in first at the college. (Photo by AP Photo)