(XINHUA)

Shenzhou 9 manned spacecraft stands ready on a launch platform in northwest China's Gansu Province on June 13.

The space mission highlights several new breakthroughs. The spacecraft will perform China's first manned space docking mission with the orbiting Tiangong-1 space lab module. A female Chinese astronaut for the first time will fly to space as part of a three-person crew. The crew members will stay 13 days in space, a new record of space mission duration. Additionally, Chinese astronauts will enter Tiangong-1 to complete a series of experiments. The mission is expected to lay a solid foundation for the construction of a Chinese space station in 2020.