Shenzhou 10, China's 5th Manned space mission, was launched from Jiupuan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert at 0938 GMT on June 11th 2013. This is to be a 16 day mission to dock with China's space station Tiangong-1 (which means Heavenly Palace 1). It will be the third mission to Tiangong-1. While the three yuhangyuans (China National Space Administration astronauts), commander Major General Niè Hǎishèng, Flight Engineer Zhang Xiaoguang, and Flight Engineer Captain Wang Yaping (second female CNSA astronaut) are in space they conduct scienfitic experiments and give a science lecture to Chinese students.
This is a great accomplishment for the Chinese space program, but for everyone who is worried about NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, JAXA, and CSA falling behind in a space "race" to Chine let me point out some facts.
This is a 16 day mission.
The ISS has been manned for 4606 days on June 11th 2013. That is about 13 years, and everyday the crew conducts science experiments, and just about every other day, some times two times a day, the crew talks to school children or in a public event.
The Tiangong-1 has 15 cubic meters of pressurized space for the crew of 3 to live in.
The ISS has 837 cubic meters of pressurized space for the crew of 6 to live in.
This is a big accomplishment for the Chinese space program, but they still have a long way to be even in the same category as the American or Russian space programs.
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