China on Thursday sent three astronauts to its permanent space station Tiangong to replace the crew stationed there since last October.

The Shenzhou-20 spaceship took off at 5:17 p.m. local time (0917 GMT) from Gobi Desert in northwestern China, according to state media. 

The  crew currently aboard Tiangong is scheduled to return on April 29th. The teams rotate roughly every six months.

China is striving to become a leading celestial power, aiming to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030, build a base there and explore Mars.

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