China to take one giant leap for mankind

China will launch a two-man space mission, Shenzhou 11, on Monday, officials with the space programme said, taking the country closer to its ambition of setting up a permanent manned space station by 2022.

Chinese astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong will be on board the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft as it blasts off at 7.30 am (2330 GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi desert, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

They will arrive at China’s orbiting space lab Tiangong-2 within two days and stay for 30 more days before returning to earth, according to the report. Jing, a 50-year-old astronaut who has already been to space twice, will command the mission to the lab, which was launched in September.

He and Chen will carry out research projects related to in-orbit equipment repairs, aerospace medicine, space physics and biology, atomic space clocks and solar storm research, Xinhua reported earlier.

President Xi Jinping has called for China to establish itself as a space power, and it has tested anti-satellite missiles, in addition to its civilian aims.

China says its space programme is for peaceful purposes, but the US defence department has highlighted its increasing capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed to prevent adversaries from using space-based assets in a crisis.

“This mission is characterised by its longer duration and more tests,” Chen Dong, the junior astronaut on the mission, told reporters in a televised news conference.

“We will focus on improving our ability to handle emergencies in orbit, medical first aid, mutual rescue capabilities and space experiments.”

The spacecraft, whose name translates as “Divine Vessel”, will also carry three experiments designed by Hong Kong middle school students and selected in a science competition, including one that will take silk worms into space. China launched its second experimental space lab Tiangong 2, or “Heavenly Palace 2”, in September. While China to date has focused on near-Earth space exploration, future missions will be bigger and go farther than 400 km, said Zhang Yulin, an official with the space program and the Central Military Commission.

The country’s space program will soon move from exploratory testing to normal operations with the launch of the next space station.