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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

China will begin recruiting civilians for crewed space missions [macaudailytimes.com.mo], rather than limiting the space program to military personnel:

China will begin recruiting civilian astronauts for its military-backed space program and plans to increase the number of crewed missions to around two a year, a top official with the country's space program said.

China's third batch of astronaut trainees will include recruits from industry, research institutions and universities who will help build and crew China's independent space station, Yang Liwei, deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, told reporters on the sidelines of the annual session of China's ceremonial parliament.

Russia and China have agreed to collaborate on future missions [rt.com]:

Russia and China have agreed to create a joint data center for lunar and deep space projects, Russian space agency Roscosmos has announced. The projects will involve Russian and Chinese scientific and industrial bodies and companies, Roscosmos said in a statement on Saturday.

Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) also signed an agreement of intent on cooperation over moon and deep space research, at the International Space Exploration Forum (ISEF) in Tokyo. The countries will also look into the possibilities of providing assistance for each other's lunar programs. That would include the launch of the Russian Luna-26 orbiter in 2022, and the Chinese planned landing on the south pole of the moon scheduled for 2023.

Both countries [spacepolicyonline.com] attended the International Space Exploration Forum in Tokyo [isef2.jp] (ISEF2), where international agreements were signed [nikkei.com]. The next forum will be held in Italy in 2021.

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