The Shenzhou-23 mission will see a Chinese astronaut spend a full year in orbit for the first time. JIUQUAN: China launched its Shenzhou-23 mission on Sunday (May 24), which will see a Chinese astronaut spend a full year in orbit for the first time, a crucial step in Beijing's ambition to send humans to the Moon by 2030. The Long March 2-F rocket blasted off in a cloud of flames and smoke on time at 11:08 pm (1508 GMT) from the Jiuquan launch centre in China's northwestern Gobi Desert, video