United News of Bangladesh

China's Shenzhou-23 astronauts have completed a series of emergency decision-making and psychological assessments as part of a study examining how long-term space missions affect astronauts' physical and mental performance, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said on Monday. The three-member crew, including a woman astronaut from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, has been living aboard China's Tiangong space station for nearly two months. One of the astronauts is scheduled to remain in orbit for a full year as part of China's first long-duration human spaceflight research programme, which aims to collect data on the effects of extended stays in space. A weekly video released by the space agency on Sunday showed the astronauts wearing sensors and virtual reality (VR) headsets to monitor brain activity during the tests. The behavioural assessments are part of more than 100 scientific experiments and technology demonstration projects currently being carried out aboard the Tiangong space station. In addition to space medicine research, the crew has installed a radiation biology exposure device and an external camera on one of the station's laboratory modules. They have also completed testing of cargo measurement equipment. The agency said a new type of energy storage battery will also be tested in orbit, with the findings expected to support future upgrades to the Tiangong space station. China launched the Shenzhou-23 crewed spacecraft on May 24. A key objective of the mission is the one-year stay by one astronaut, making it China's longest planned human space mission to date. Previous crewed missions to the Tiangong space station typically lasted about six months. As China prepares for future deep-space exploration, the country expects longer missions to become more common, increasing the need to better understand the physical and psychological challenges faced by astronauts.