China will launch a two-man space mission on Monday, officials said, boldly taking the country one step closer to its goal of setting up a permanent manned space station by 2022.
The spaceship Shenzhou 11, whose name translates as Divine Vessel, will transport two male astronauts into space, the deputy director of the manned space engineering office, Wu Ping, told a news conference at the Jiuquan satellite launch centre, quoted by Xinhua news agency.
A Long March-2F carrier rocket will blast off from the launch site in the remote northwestern province of Gansu. The spacecraft will dock with the orbiting Tiangong 2 space laboratory within two days. The astronauts will stay in the space lab for 30 days conducting experiments, said Ms Wu.
Tiangong 2, or “Heavenly Palace 2”, which launched on September 15th, was in “good condition”, with all systems and equipment operating as expected, she said.
The mission aims to transport personnel and materials between Earth and Tiangong 2, and examine rendezvous, docking and return procedures. If China succeeds in its plan to operate a permanent space station by 2022, it will become the world’s third country to do so.
Among the experiments to be conducted by the two taikonauts, as Chinese astronauts are known, are the first ultrasound tests during space travel, cultivating plants in space, and testing the three winners of an experiment design competition run in Hong Kong for secondary school students, including taking silkworms into space.
Established space power
President Xi Jinping has urged China to establish itself as a space power, and success in space is a powerful symbol of China’s rising power, of its improving technical expertise, and of the Communist Party’s progress.
In 2003, Yang Liwei became China's first man in space, orbiting the Earth on China's maiden manned space flight, Shenzhou 5. During this flight, he shattered the myth that you could see the Great Wall of China from space.
China says its space programme is primarily for peaceful purposes, but like other countries it has also tested anti-satellite missiles.
Leading the mission will be Jing Haipeng, who is making his third space flight after missions in 2008 and 2012. He will celebrate his 50th birthday in orbit on October 24th.
“For this mission, we have improved our ability to deal with emergencies, first aid and space experiments,” Mr Jing told reporters.
During the mission, the spacecraft will form a module that, when docked with Tiangong 2, will create a complex. The feasibility of the space complex to support astronauts' life, work and flight missions will be tested throughout the mission, Ms Wu said.
Chen Dong (38), the junior astronaut on the mission, said the mission involved multitasking and many responsibilities.
"First of all, I'm a pilot," Mr Chen said. "But my role will also see me being an engineer, a scientist, a cleaner and a farmer."
