China announces plan for a new space telescope as it readies to launch its next space station crew

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China has announced plans to send a new telescope to probe deep into the universe as it prepared to launch the country’s next three-member crew for its orbiting space station. Lin Xiqiang, spokesperson and deputy director general of the Chinese Manned Space Agency, said on Wednesday that the mission was part of an expansion of the space station. Three astronauts — Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin — will replace a crew that’s been on the station for six months. Tang is a veteran who led a 2021 space mission for three months. China says it plans to send a crewed mission to the moon by the end of the decade.