China’s Xuelong 2 icebreaker reaches waters near Zhongshan Station

China's Xuelong 2 icebreaker has reached waters off Zhongshan Station and begun icebreaking operations as part of the country’s 42nd Antarctic expedition, a 19-month mission advancing major scientific research and international collaboration in polar conditions.

The Xuelong, which completed resupply in Hobart, Australia, has crossed the westerlies and is sailing toward the station. It is expected to reach waters about 60 km from Zhongshan Station on Dec. 1.

"The two vessels are carrying about 2,000 tons of supplies for the Antarctic Zhongshan Station. Over the next two weeks, depending on ice conditions, we'll be unloading the cargo using both sea-ice vehicles and helicopter sling operations," said Wei Fuhai, Leader of China's 42nd Antarctic Expedition.

The expedition, supported by both the Xuelong and Xuelong 2, will conduct multi-disciplinary scientific surveys, advance several major national research projects, and test domestically developed equipment under polar conditions.

China's 42nd Antarctic expedition team set sail from Shanghai on Nov. 1 for a 19-month scientific mission, which is expected to conclude in May 2026 when both vessels return to China.

The expedition includes more than 500 members from over 80 institutions on the Chinese mainland, along with researchers from more than 10 countries and regions, such as Thailand, Chile and Portugal, as well as China's Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, in support of broader international scientific collaboration.

China’s Xuelong 2 icebreaker reaches waters near Zhongshan Station

China's Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the country's northwest on Sunday, sending three astronauts to its orbiting space station.

The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, lifted off from the launch site at 23:08 Beijing Time (15:08 GMT).

The crew members consist of mission commander Zhu Yangzhu, and fellow astronauts Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying, who is also the first astronaut from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

In another notable first, one of the crew members is set to undertake a year-long stay aboard the space station, double the usual duration of previous Shenzhou missions.

After entering orbit, the Shenzhou-23 spaceship will perform a fast automated rendezvous and docking with the radial port of the space station core module Tianhe, forming a combination of three modules and three spacecraft.

Shenzhou-23 marks the 40th flight of China's manned spaceflight program and the seventh manned flight mission since the Tiangong space station entered its application and development phase in late 2022.

China launches Shenzhou-23 manned spaceship