By Star Chang, posted Jun 24, 2012 at 6:41 AM, 894 views,

Photo Gallery: China’s First Female Astronaut

China had successfully send its first woman into outer space last week. Liu Yang, a 33-year-old fighter pilot, has joined two other male astronauts aboard the spacecraft. They will attempt a manual space docking procedure and part of China’s exploratory preparations for a space lab. Medical experts who helped select the crew, have said that female astronauts must meet the same criteria as men. Female Chinese astronauts must be married and preferably be mothers, citing concerns that space radiation would “harm their fertility” …

“Thank you for the confidence put in my by the motherland and the people, for giving me this chance to represent China’s millions of women by going into space,” Liu told local press at the launch center before flying off. China’s latest space mission has attracted even more than the usual national attention thanks to Liu’s presence. Her selection to the mission team became the top discuss subject on social media, with more than 30 million posts.

SOURCE: photo.chinanews.com (Link1)(Link2)
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