China is set to launch a manned space mission on Monday. Shenzhou 11, a two-man space mission, will work towards establishing China's permanent manned station in space by 2022.

The launch will take place at 7:30 a.m. from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. It will be the longest crewed space mission for the country.

Like Us on Facebook

Shenzhou 11 will carry astronauts Chen Dong and Jing Haipeng to space. They will dock at the Tiangong 2 space lab. The lab was launched in September. The astronauts will spend 33 days in space, conducting various experiments including testing various processes and refueling.

China plans to set up a space station by 2022. For this purpose, the country launched The Tiangong 1 and Tiangong 2. Its aim is to get the space station up and running before 2024 when International Space Station is scheduled to be retired. Leroy Chiano, a former NASA astronaut, said that China is on the rise and the US is likely to fall behind in the future.

Tiangong 1 is likely to fall into earth's atmosphere in late 2017. While China may have lost control over the space ship, authorities have emphasized that the fall is not likely to cause any damage. Wu Ping, deputy director of the manned space engineering office, said that according to the calculations and analysis, most parts of the lab are likely to burn up during the fall.

China has emphasized that it plans to use its space missions for peaceful purposes. 

TagsShenzhou 11, Tiangong-1, Tiangong-2