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

The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

After receiving permission from a high-ranking official, the crew saluted him and all participants to the brief event before boarding on their car to the launch tower.

The Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 11:08 p.m. Sunday.

China launched the Shenzhou 23 spacecraft Sunday night with three astronauts heading to its space station, including one set to stay in space for a year.