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)

Love Island babe Jessica Hayes has wild night out with Ryan Mira at Bubbles Beach Club and SoHo nightclub in Liverpool, England on September 8, 2016. (Photo by Danny Ryan/iCelebTV)

UK Love Island star Tasha Ghouri stuns fans by posing braless in an open blazer jacket in the last decade of August 2022. (Photo by instagram)

Focus on two glasses of champagne on floor. Ardent loving couple is sitting on bed and hugging with passion on background. Romantic date concept. (Photo by Olena Yakobchuk/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

American media personality, socialite and model Kylie Jenner says “rise and shine” with her bra in the second decade of September 2022. (Photo by kyliejenner/Instagram)

American actress and model Bella Thorne shows off her wild manicure in the second decade of November 2022. (Photo by bellathorne/Instagram)

American socialite and media personality Kim Kardashian sweats out her stress in a sauna in the second decade of January 2023. (Photo by kimkardashian/Instagram)

American socialite Kylie Jenner in the second decade of November 2023 flaunts her assets in an Alo sports bra. (Photo by kyliejenner/Instagram)