我國今年將啓動第三批航天員選拔

China will select the third batch of astronauts this year for its manned space exploration plan, according to Yang Liwei, deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office and China's first astronaut to go into space.

中國載人航天工程辦公室副主任、我國首位進入太空的航天員楊利偉日前表示，今年，我國將爲載人航天探索計劃選拔第三批航天員。

"The new batch will have 10 to 12 astronauts, including around two females," Yang said.

楊利偉稱：“新一批航天員會選拔10到12人，其中女性爲兩名左右。”

"Astronauts in the first batch were required to have bachelor's degrees and pilots' license. But now, new astronauts will focus on the engineering side. They should have master's degrees to work as engineers and researchers," Yang said.

楊利偉表示：“過去我們要求首批航天員具備本科學歷、擁有飛行員執照。不過現在，新的航天員將重點從工程角度考慮，須爲具備研究生學歷的工程師和研究員。”

New astronauts might face lower physical standards set for past astronauts in selection and training, but they should have more stable mental endurance, allowing them to work in a small place with heavy work for a long period. Meanwhile, the checks on chronic disease will be stricter.

新航天員所面臨的選拔與訓練的身體素質標準較以前的航天員要低，但他們需具備更穩定的心理承受能力，使其能長期在狹小空間高負荷工作；同時對慢性病的檢查也將更加嚴格。

Yang added that according to an initial plan, China might choose new astronauts every four years depending on the missions and training situations.

楊利偉還表示，按照初步計劃，根據任務和訓練情況，我國可能每4年選拔一批新航天員。

But the crew of Shenzhou XII will consist of astronauts from the first and second batches, Yang said.

但神舟12號的航天員將由第一、第二批航天員組成。