Reuters Science News Summary

Earlier in October, Pakistan and Azerbaijan joined the ILRS, a project jointly initiated by China and Russia in 2021 and widely seen as a rival to the U.S.-led Artemis programme.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

China's youngest-ever crew of astronauts heads to space station

The youngest-ever crew of Chinese astronauts departed for China's space station on Thursday, paving the way for a new generation of "taikonauts" to advance the country's space ambitions in the future. The spacecraft Shenzhou-17, or "Divine Vessel", and its three passengers lifted off atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China.

Putin aims to have Russian space station by 2027

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday the first segment of Russia's new orbital station, which Moscow sees as the next logical development in space exploration after the International Space Station (ISS), should be put into operation by 2027. In a meeting with space industry officials, Putin also vowed to proceed with Russia's lunar programme despite the failure in August of its first moonshot in 47 years, Russian news agencies reported.

Factbox-Partner nations on China's lunar research station programme

Belarus this week joined China's International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) programme, the third country to sign up this month for a plan to eventually set up a permanently inhabited outpost on the moon's south pole. Earlier in October, Pakistan and Azerbaijan joined the ILRS, a project jointly initiated by China and Russia in 2021 and widely seen as a rival to the U.S.-led Artemis programme.

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