China says it’s ready to launch the next crew to its orbiting space station early Wednesday

JIUQUAN, China (AP) — China says all systems are ready to launch the next crew to its orbiting space station on the latest mission to make the country a major space power. The two men and one woman will replace the astronauts who’ve lived on the Tiangong space station for the last six months. The new mission commander went to space in 2022, while the other two are first-time space travelers. The Shenzhou-19 spaceship carrying the trio is due to launch at 4:27 a.m. Wednesday. China has forged ahead and plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030 with the possibility of putting a permanent base there.