China's next manned spacecraft, the Shenzhou-9 has been transported to a launch center in Jiuquan, Gansu Province.

A series of tests will be carried out on the spacecraft before the launch takes place in June and August. The Shenzhou 9 will manually dock with the Tiangong-1, an orbiting module that is part of the country's space station program, to conduct scientific experiments.

Three Chinese astronauts will be chosen to fly aboard the spacecraft from 7 candidates, 2 of whom will be female astronauts.