China to send astronaut on year-long space mission as it eyes 2030 moon landing

China is launching its Shenzhou-23 mission, sending an astronaut for a record year-long stay on the Tiangong space station to study long-duration human physiology in space. This mission is part of China's ambitious goal for a crewed moon landing by 2030 and establishing a permanent lunar base by 2035 with Russia. The article highlights the accelerating space race with the U.S., whose NASA aims for a crewed moon landing by 2028 with its Artemis program, supported by advancements like SpaceX's Starship. China is developing new hardware like the Long March-10 rockets, Mengzhou spacecraft, and Lanyue lunar lander, and is also conducting experiments on human stem cells in space.