An Iraqi woman grieves at the scene of a bomb attack in Jameela market in the Iraqi capital's crowded Sadr City neighborhood Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, August 13, 2015. A massive truck bomb ripped through a popular Baghdad food market in a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in the early morning hours on Thursday, killing dozens of people, police officials said. (Photo by Karim Kadim/AP Photo)

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)

Israeli soldiers pray at dawn as the conflict between Palestine and Gaza enters its seventh day on November 20, 2012 on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. Hamas militants and Israel are continuing talks aimed at a ceasefire as the death toll in Gaza reaches more than 100 and also three Israelis killed by rockets fired by Palestinian militants. (Photo by Christopher Furlong)

A swimmer stops short of a red algae bloom at Sydney's Clovelly Beach on November 27, 2012, which closed some beaches for swimming including Bondi Beach for a period of time. While the red algae, known as Noctiluca scintillans or sea sparkle, has no toxic effects, people are still advised to avoid swimming in areas with discoloured water because the algae, which can be high in ammonia, can cause skin irritation. (Photo by William West/AFP Photo)

“House of the Dragon” star, English actress Olivia Cooke shows off her curves in a new advertising campaign for Rihanna's lingerie firm “Savage Fenty” early October 2022. The British beauty – who took over the role of Alicent Hightower when the medieval epic did a time jump – has become a brand ambassador for the saucy underwear firm. (Photo by Savage Fenty)

A girl peers from between light decorations at a Christmas fair which opened ahead of the holiday season in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, November 25, 2022. Municipal authorities in the Romanian capital, quoted by local media, stated that holiday season city light decoration levels will remain at last year's level and use energy saving solutions. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)

A man falls from a horse at a rodeo exhibition during Tradition Day, aimed to preserve gaucho traditions, in San Antonio de Areco, Argentina, Sunday, November 13, 2022. Tradition Day is celebrated to honor the birth of Argentine writer Jose Hernandez, author of the country's national poem “The Gaucho Martin Fierro”. (Photo by Natacha Pisarenko/AP Photo)

Toyota's driver Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar (R) and his co-driver Mathieu Baumel of France compete during the prologue of the Dakar 2023 by the Red Sea in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, on December 31, 2022. Swedish driver Mattias Ekstrom and his co-driver Emil Bergkvist of Sweden won the prologue ahead of French driver Sebastien Loeb and Belgian co-driver Fabian Lurquin. (Photo by Franck Fife/AFP Photo)