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)

Umbrellas are placed over the statute of the Beatles, during a photocall, on Liverpool's waterfront, in Liverpool, England, Wednesday, March 22, 2017. The city of Liverpool is getting set to celebrate the half-centenary of “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band”, one of the most influential albums by local heroes The Beatles. (Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Wire via AP Photo)

Cast member Charlize Theron attends the “Atomic Blonde” World Premiere at Stage Theater on July 17, 2017 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Alamy Stock Photo)

A seagull eats a piece of dried fish of a man's hand during sunset at Bang Pu seaside resort in Samut Prakan province on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, 13 January 2019. Every year during the cold winter months between October to March thousands of seagulls migrate to Bang Pu seaside from Siberia to escape the harsh winter. (Photo by Diego Azubel/EPA/EFE)

Icicles are seen on a handrail along the coast at Donggang business district in Dalian, Liaoning province, China on December 27, 2018. (Photo by Reuters/China Stringer Network)

A girl broadcasts at live streaming talent agency Three Minute TV in Beijing, China on April 12, 2017. Three Minute TV also arranges cosmetic surgery at partner hospitals for its anchors, arranges small bank loans for the surgery, photographs and markets the anchors and helps them find acting opportunities Deng said. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

An elderly man uses a fan to shade himself from the sun as he walks in a public park in Beijing, Tuesday, June 7, 2016. Thursday marks the Duanwu Festival, a public holiday in China celebrated with outdoor activities including dragon boat races. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)

A volunteer poses for a photograph with a snowman depicting the Beijing Winter Olympics mascot Bing Dwen Dwen at National Biathlon Centre in Zhangjiakou, China on February 13, 2022. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)