Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, uses a binocular, as Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, left, and chief of Russia's military's General Staff Valery Gerasimov, right, observe military exercises near the Baikal Lake on Wednesday, July 17, 2013. (Photo by Alexei Nikolsky/AP Photo/RIA Novosti/Presidential Press Service)

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 police officer has weapons blessed by a Hindu priest during the Vishwakarma Puja festival in the outskirts of Agartala, India, September 17, 2016. (Photo by Jayanta Dey/Reuters)

Participants wearing costumes and masks take part in the first day of the traditional carnival parade in Mohacs, Hungary, 23 February 2017. The carnival parade of so-called busos, dressed in costumes with frightening wooden masks and using various noisy wooden rattlers, is traditionally held on the seventh weekend before Easter to drive away winter. (Photo by Sandor Ujvari/EPA)

A devotee holds incense sticks while celebrating the Sindoor Jatra Festival on April 15, 2015 in Thimi, Nepal. Sindoor Jatra Festival is celebrated each year in Thimi, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, to welcome the Nepali New Year and celebrate the coming of spring. During the Festival, devotees are smeared with vermillion powder and 30 chariots containing the images of several gods and goddesses are carrying by the devotees around the town, while others sing, dance and play musical instruments. (Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images)

Border guard officers, wearing masks against COVID-19 infection adjust their outfits before a distinguished service awards ceremony for employees of the interior ministry in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, July 16, 2020. Romania has registered on Thursday the highest number of COVID-19 infection cases since the pandemic reached the country in February, 777 in a 24 hours interval, as many fail to observe the mandatory protection measures, like the use of a face mask indoors or maintaining social distancing. (Photo by Andreea Alexandru/AP Photo)

Palestinians carry their belongings as they prepare to flee Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 13, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas militant group. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

Performers entertain passengers at London Heathrow Airport's T3 on Monday, November 8, 2021, as the US reopens its borders to UK visitors in a significant boost to the travel sector. Thousands of travellers are jetting off on transatlantic flights for long-awaited reunions with family and friends. (Photo by Steve Parsons/PA Images via Getty Images)