China begins recruitment for 4th batch of astronauts

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The nation is expanding its astronaut corps as its Tiangong space station nears completion.

Shenzhou 14 astronauts Chen Dong and Liu Yang work outside the Wentian module of China's Tiangong space station during a six-hour spacewalk on Sept. 1, 2022.
Shenzhou 14 astronauts Chen Dong and Liu Yang work outside the Wentian module of China's Tiangong space station during a six-hour spacewalk on Sept. 1, 2022. (Image credit: CMSA)

China’s human spaceflight agency has begun the search for a new batch of astronauts to join its ranks as the country moves to complete its orbiting space station.

The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced on Sunday (Oct. 2) that it will select 12 to 14 candidates to join its pool of astronauts for future spaceflight missions.

CMSA said that it will seek seven to eight pilots along with five or six spaceflight engineers. Up to two of the latter group will be payload specialists.

Related: The latest news about China's space program

The pilots will be selected from the People's Liberation Army. Civilians from China’s space-related sectors can apply to be spaceflight engineers. 

The new astronaut selection round is open to candidates from Hong Kong and Macao for the first time.

Those selected will form China's fourth generation of astronauts. Their recruitment follows the selection of 18 astronauts in 2020, who have been undergoing training and could soon be available for selection for missions.

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The new selection comes as China moves into the final stages of construction of its Tiangong space station.

China launched the first two modules for Tiangong in April 2021 and July 2022. The third and final module for the T-shaped orbital outpost is currently scheduled for launch at the end of October.

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Andrew Jones
Andrew Jones
Contributing Writer

Andrew is a freelance space journalist with a focus on reporting on China's rapidly growing space sector. He began writing for Space.com in 2019 and writes for SpaceNews, IEEE Spectrum, National Geographic, Sky & Telescope, New Scientist and others. Andrew first caught the space bug when, as a youngster, he saw Voyager images of other worlds in our solar system for the first time. Away from space, Andrew enjoys trail running in the forests of Finland. You can follow him on Twitter @AJ_FI.