JIUQUAN -- The selection of the fourth batch of Chinese astronauts is about to be completed soon, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced at a press conference on Wednesday.

They will work with other active astronauts to carry out the follow-up space station missions and to realize the country's manned lunar landing, said Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the CMSA.

Lin said that China has essentially completed the selection of payload specialists in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions for the fourth batch of astronauts, and relevant information will soon be officially released.

Scientific research institutions in Hong Kong and Macao have proposed a group of new space science and application projects, such as a project on high-resolution global greenhouse gas detection, which hopefully will be carried out at the country's space station Tiangong in the future, according to Lin.

China selected 14 and seven astronauts from air force pilots in 1998 and 2010 respectively. In 2020, it completed the selection of the third batch of 18 astronauts including space pilots, flight engineers and payload specialists.