Wang Yaping, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the first female taikonaut to enter China's space station. Photo: VCG

The China Astronaut Research and Training Center is taking the lead in applying to establish a ground-based research facility for extraterrestrial survival to address the challenges of long-term human survival beyond Earth, Wang Yaping, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the first female taikonaut to enter China's space station, said on Saturday during a group discussion.

China's pace of advancing into deeper space is accelerating, Wang said, adding that the center is taking the lead in applying to establish a ground-based research facility for extraterrestrial survival, according to CCTV's military channel. 

"The rapid development of China's manned spaceflight industry has once again reminded me how fortunate I am to live in a strong and stable China and to witness such a remarkable era," Wang said, per the report.

Wang said on Saturday that taikonauts from the Hong Kong and Macao regions are preparing for missions and are expected to conduct space station flights as early as this year, according to CCTV.

The selection and training of foreign astronauts are also progressing as planned, and in the future, they will carry out missions together with Chinese taikonauts on China's space station, Wang added.

China is scheduled to launch two crewed missions and one cargo mission to its space station in 2026, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), the Xinhua News Agency reported on February 27. 

A taikonaut from the Hong Kong or Macao special administrative region is expected to carry out a space station mission as early as this year, the CMSA noted.

Currently, China's space station is operating stably in orbit. Since entering the application and development phase, China's manned space program has successfully completed six crewed missions, four cargo resupply missions, and seven spacecraft return missions. It also carried out the first emergency launch in 2025, Xinhua reported.

Global Times