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 member of the United Arab Emirates armed forces gestures as the first batch of UAE military personnel returns from Yemen in Abu Dhabi, November 7, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/United Arab Emirates News Agency WAM)

A model presents a creation made with chocolate by professional designers and pastry chefs during a Chocolate Fashion Show at the Salon Du Chocolat in Beirut, Lebanon November 12, 2015. (Photo by Jamal Saidi/Reuters)

A snowboarder performs during the Red Bull Jump and Freeze competition at ski resort Shimbulak outside Almaty March 22, 2015. Participants wearing festive costumes perform tricks before getting into a pond with icy water. (Photo by Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters)

These images of an abandoned theater act as a time capsule of a location that was once rocked by the stars. The likes of Metallica, R.E.M. and Motorhead all played the Variety Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio, but now all that remains are dusty chairs that once supported encapsulated crowds. Renowned abandoned building photographer Matthew Christopher photographed the theater in its dilapidated state. Here: The Variety Theatre, Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Matthew Christopher/Caters News)

These are the dunes of the Namib Desert, taken by Korea's Kompstat-2 satellite. The blue and white area is the dried riverbed of the Tsauchab river. (Photo by The European Space Agency)

After 12 years photographing models, musicians, and celebrities, Brad Wilson decided that he wanted to photograph something a little more unpredictable: wild animals. Photo: Serval. (Photo by Brad Wilson)