Xinhua/NAN
China will begin selection for the next generation of astronauts who will train to work on the country’s planned space station, local media report said on Monday.
The Deputy Director of the China Manned Space Agency and the first Chinese astronaut in space, Yang Liwei, said this during an open day at Beijing’s Astronaut Center of China.
“The selection work will begin soon and that Chinese scientists and engineers will be eligible to apply.
“We plan to select suitable candidates from space industry companies, research entities and universities and train them into engineers and payload specialists capable of working on the space station.
“Those who want to apply for an engineer’s post will need a master’s degree, while candidates for payload specialists will need a doctorate degree.
“They will also have at least three years of working experience,’’ Yang said.
According to the report, the country is developing and building parts of a manned space station and plans to start assembling it in space in 2020.
The station is scheduled to become fully operational around 2022.