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 giant Iron Man statue stands next to a replica Sphinx in Chuzhou, Anhui Province, China on February 21, 2017. (Photo by Sipa Asia/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Indigenous nurses from the Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health (Sesai) of the Arapiuns ethnic group and Tapuia ethnic groups perform a rapid COVID-19 test on Chief Domingos from the Arapium tribe on the banks of the lower Tapajos River in the municipality of Santarem in western Para on July 19, 2020. (Photo by Tarso Sarraf/AFP Photo)

Kindergarten children show off handmade floral headdress made of ginkgo leaves on December 17, 2024 in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. The floral headdress is also known as Zanhua or Zanhuawei. Zanhuawei is a traditional Chinese hairstyle favored among ladies from Xunpu Village of Quanzhou in China's Fujian Province. (Photo by Tan Yunfeng/VCG via Getty Images)

Devotees pull a wooden chariot carrying an idol of the Hindu deity Bhairav during 'Bisket Jatra' festival to mark the Nepali New Year, in Bhaktapur, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, on April 10, 2025. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)

Vintage supermodel Gisele Bundchen sparkles in seasonal jewellery photoshoot in the second decade of November 2023. The Brazilian goddess, 43, a mainstay in fashion magazines for over 20 years, poses in Christmas Holiday 2023 campaign for Brazilian firm VIVARA. (Photo by Capture Media Agency)

People carry an empty coffin past a street food vendor into the shop that is buying it to repair and sell in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, September 13, 2024. (Photo by Odelyn Joseph/AP Photo)

A Pakistani Hindu bride attends a mass marriage ceremony in Karachi, Pakistan, 07 January 2024. The Pakistan Hindu Council organized the mass wedding ceremony for 122 Hindu couples belonging to poorer classes. (Photo by Shahzaib Akber/EPA/EFE)