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| China poised for space station mission | China poised for space station mission |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| China is to launch two men into orbit on Monday morning as it continues to develop its ability to explore space. | China is to launch two men into orbit on Monday morning as it continues to develop its ability to explore space. |
| The astronauts will take off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northern China, Chinese officials said. | The astronauts will take off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northern China, Chinese officials said. |
| The plan is for them to dock with and then spend 30 days on board the Tiangong 2 space station testing its ability to support life. | The plan is for them to dock with and then spend 30 days on board the Tiangong 2 space station testing its ability to support life. |
| This and previous launches are seen as pointers to possible crewed missions to the Moon or Mars. | This and previous launches are seen as pointers to possible crewed missions to the Moon or Mars. |
| An earlier Tiangong - or "Heavenly Palace" - space station was decommissioned earlier this year after docking with three rockets. | An earlier Tiangong - or "Heavenly Palace" - space station was decommissioned earlier this year after docking with three rockets. |
| The astronauts on this latest mission were named as Jing Haipeng, 49, who has already been in space twice, and 37-year-old Chen Dong. | The astronauts on this latest mission were named as Jing Haipeng, 49, who has already been in space twice, and 37-year-old Chen Dong. |
| They will blast off at 07:30 local time (23:30 GMT) on board a Shenzhou 11 spacecraft lifted by a Long March-2F rocket. | They will blast off at 07:30 local time (23:30 GMT) on board a Shenzhou 11 spacecraft lifted by a Long March-2F rocket. |
| China's Yutu Moon rover pictured | China's Yutu Moon rover pictured |
| China's science revolution | China's science revolution |
| China continues to develop its space programme. It has already conducted a space walk and is only the third country after Russia and the US to carry out its own crewed space missions. | |
| In 2013 China successfully landed its uncrewed Yutu rover on the Moon. |