A Pakistani astronaut will become the first foreign national aboard China’s Tiangong space station, as Beijing steps up space diplomacy amid a burgeoning battle with the United States for supremacy in orbit.

A crew of Chinese astronauts headed for orbit Thursday to begin a six-month-long mission aboard the Tiangong space station.

China has launched three astronauts into space to replace the crew on the Chinese Tiangong space station, marking a further step in the country's ambitions for a crewed mission to the Moon and explore Mars.