At 23:08 on 24 May 2026, the Shenzhou-23 manned spacecraft was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The flight crew comprises Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan, and Li Jiaying. The Shenzhou-23 mission will stay in orbit for approximately six months, rotating with the Shenzhou-21 crew, and will carry out experiments on space life sciences, microgravity physics, and perovskite cells, as well as multiple extravehicular activities.
Perovskite cells are third-generation PV cells that use perovskite-structured semiconductor thin films as the light-absorbing layer, directly converting light energy into electrical energy. They feature low cost, ultra-thin and ultra-light design, and high efficiency, and are regarded as the new energy technology most likely to achieve industrialisation. This space experiment will provide efficiency degradation curves under space conditions, and will test and verify the radiation resistance stability and extreme temperature cycling adaptability of perovskite cells.
